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Your Choice of Search Engine Says Something About You
Did you know Google actually started out as an academic search engine? Learning about search engines, how they work and how they can be optimized for your own web site is cool. Geeky, maybe, but still cool. Ok, I'm rationalizing. Still, as a media trend, search engine optimization (SEO) has actually created a mini-boom digital cottage industry. In a way, the search engine you regularly use may say something about you and the kind of search results you most prefer.
According the comScore, Forrester, Jupitermedia, Nielsen/Netratings and others, the top search engines are clear: Google is the dominant #1 (don't forget AOL's search is Google powered), followed by - after a drop-off - Yahoo! at #2 and MSN #3. Then, you get assorted smaller engines with far less usage -- but perhaps more specific search results (Altavista, Lycos, Dogpile, Clusty, AllTheWeb, Ask, etc.)
So why do you use the search engine you choose?
Convenience (on your startup home page; in your browser toolbar) is certainly an important reason. Ease-of-use, too. Reliable search results that make sense to you and don't require you to dig too deeply for the link you need is also important.
Each search engine has unique market approaches, based largely on the needs of its users.
According to a research study by Outsell, Google is, at heart, a search and technology company. It evolves by serving its users a broad range of technology tools and initiatives. Google’s other defining characteristic is its almost 100 percent reliance on advertising as a revenue source, via AdWords and AdSense.
Yahoo! has its roots in human-generated directories and portals, so its initiatives and acquisitions reflect a more humanistic approach to providing users with information and tools. It's also focused on being more of an entertainment portal, driven by its CEO Terry Semel. Its revenue model is more balanced than Google’s, using search advertising, banner ads, and content sales to fuel growth.
Microsoft's MSN, owing to its software roots, continues to seek ways to expand its virtual mnopoly on the desktop. The lion’s share of Microsoft’s revenue comes from software, while MSN generates added revenue via everything from Internet access to content purchases.
Meanwhile, the remaining small search engines tend to remain portal driven a la Yahoo!, offering specialized ways to search (Ask using questions, Clusty "clustering" the search results, etc.) or even help you be even more geeky fashionable using new engines.
Discussing search engine growth, the Outsell report says, “MSN is out to pasture with low single-digit growth. Google hit the finish line first, with an estimated growth rate of 92.5 percent. Yahoo! took the silver medal with an estimated growth rate of 47.1 percent, and MSN barely captured the bronze at just 2.6 percent."
Read more about the report here
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, March 07, 2006,
