Could Microsoft Knock Off Yahoo To Become Google's Biggest Competitor?
As much as I would have thought such a post title would have been absurd a week ago, it could happen. According to the latest search market share figures released by Compete, MSN/ Live increased its market share by 67% from May to June 2007, putting Microsoft’s share of search at 13.2% behind Yahoo at 19.6% and Google on 62.7%. Over the year, Microsoft’s search traffic is up 47%.
Despite a $100 million Crispin, Porter + Bogusky advertising campaign, Ask saw its share of the search market decrease from 3.5% to 3.3%, although to be fair to Ask, Compete recorded a 2.6% rise in traffic.
Is this a sign that Microsoft could actually overtake Yahoo to become Google’s largest competitor, or a statistical blip?
Microsoft has the advantage of having their search properties open as the default homepage on IE7, and with Vista shipping over this time frame it could be a case that some consumers are simply using the default search page or search box they are presented with on a new box or upgraded system.
No matter what the reason, credit where it is due to Microsoft: it looks like their search strategy may finally be starting to deliver.