Source: Nielsen Online

Google continues to grow both in searches in and in market share. In July Google’s searches increased 16% over last year. Yahoo’s searches decreased 11 percent while Microsoft searches dropped 10%. Ask.com which has shifted its focus to targeting soccer moms and women grew 13% for 2% of the market share. Microsoft however had made a lot of gains in the past few months by providing monetary incentives to searchers for using their live.com search engine. It has brought many users to their site and increased their market share.

However Google owns 60 percent of the 8 billion searches and continues to own this market by a large lead. The industry as a total increased 3 percent in terms of total searches.

Paul Lee
Director of Online Marketing
LeadQual - Search Engine Marketing

Some quick updates on the MSN - Yahoo saga.After the most recent offer was rebuffed by Yahoo, both MSN & Yahoo are potentially targeting AOL. As the Aug 1 shareholder meeting nears, both sides are trying to leverage their position and out position themselves for what is bound to be a heated conversation where landscape changing decisions will be made.

Will Yahoo merge with AOL giving Yang some leverage going into the meeting that Yahoo is heading in the right direction and do not need MSN? Will MSN come in and scoop them up for their own benefit both in their standings in the search world but also for this upcoming meeting? Either way, what kind of impact will that have on the Yahoo Google partnership that apparently Yang was overheard admitting that it was an anti-competitive move against MSN?

The battle continues. Stay tuned to see what happens when the dusts settles.

UPDATE: This feels like following a sports rumor mill where information gets leaked and rumors go around that particular athletes will be traded..

There is some word going around that the news about the AOL acquisition is being more participated by people close to the Time Warner company. Time Warner apparently sees this situation as an opportunity to unload a depreciating asset. AOL once a leader in the internet space has lost tremendous brand awareness and affiliation with web browsing and as an internet provider. Neither Microsoft or Yahoo! are trying hard to acquire AOL but are simply listening as Time Warner makes the pitch. A deal at this point involving AOL before the Aug 1 shareholder date could be a reach.

Paul Lee
Director of Online Marketing
LeadQual - Search Engine Marketing