HitWise: Bing Busts Through 30% - Takes Share from Google

[Brett_Tabke]

[thenextweb.com...]

Bing-powered search in the United States just broke the 30% barrier, clocking in at 30.01% in March according to Hitwise. That was a rise from its February tally of 28.48%.

Google in the same time period dropped from 66.69% to 64.42%, ceding that ground to Bing.

Both Yahoo search, which Bing powers, and core Bing.com searches rose during the month. Market share for Bing.com rose from 13.49% to 14.32%, and Yahoo powered searches rose from 14.99% to 15.69% of the market.

[hitwise.com...]


[mashable.com...]

Google might still be the leading search engine in the U.S. by a large margin, but over the last six months, searches powered by Microsoft Bing are increasing at an impressive rate. So impressive, in fact, that if the trend line continues, there will be a real contest between Bing and Google next year — and Bing may just come out on top.

According to the latest data from Experian Hitwise, Google was responsible for 64.42% of searches in the U.S. in March, 2011. Bing-powered search — which includes both search.yahoo.com and bing.com — accounted for 30% of U.S. searches.

Previous Threads:
2 Years with Bing: [webmasterworld.com...]

[tangor]

Could this be an indication that the PUBLIC is not that happy with the Panda?

[Brett_Tabke]

Google has so screwed around with their serps this last year, that any alternative, quality, dependable, and reliable search engine that users can count on is going to gain share. Google has done something I didn't think possible - they have broken the trust of the end user. While Bing has been busy showing that they are in it for the long haul and staying-the-course with a user experience that people are coming to trust.

Google over the last year has had major changes on it's site:
- Google Instant (aka, the Waterfall) aka: new learning curve for users. aka: new users don't get it.
- Mouse overs. Nothing like random screen flashing to reassure users.
- Useless left side menus.
- Info Farts thrown into serps (maps, images, tweets, news, misc)
- Four results from the same site in position 1 to 4!? Hello - wtf are you thinking of Google!? It looks broken - It feels broken - It acts broken. Sucks to have to skip below the fold to find a decent result.

The only real bright spot here - is that if it were anyone else but Google, they would have lost another 5-10 points of share with such major disruption to user experience. If I have to learn how to use Google again, I might as well go over to Bing, where I already know how to use it.

Bing is out Googling Google.

[crobb305]

Mashable provided a nice article today showing trend extrapolations of Bing overtaking Google in 2012. I'd post the link but I don't think it's allowed. Easy to find though, and very interesting.

Edit: Cool I see you added in the Mashable link (or I overlooked it the first time I read the original post). It's an interesting piece.

[walkman]

Good, Google is getting too arrogant and too big.

My stats before Panda were about that, Bing plus Yahoo at 25%-30%

I will do my part to promote Bing. With Google you are page 1 for 4-5 years and then without changing a damn thing you're on page 4...and it's your fault.

[OldIrish]

I love Google's left side menus. I'm not epileptic but from time to time I like to visit their serps just to give myself a visually induced seizure (16 recipe check boxes = WTF?)

[jmccormac]

I guess what happened to Google is what happens when a company hires too many institutionalised PhDs instead of innovators. If the negative reaction to Google's Panda update fiasco gathers pace, Bing might just find itself overtaking Google this year.

Regards...jmcc

[zeus]

Im not sure if it so much the search results, I think people are getting more concerned about Google Privacy or the power of google, every time there is something in the mainstream media about google its negative or that google is expanding to get more data about each user. To be honest I can not remember when I last heard something good about google in the media. I hope Microsoft will not make the same mistakes and focus more on the users.

[jelikin]

Isn't this more likely to be down to the mid March release of IE9? Don't use it myself but am pretty sure bing will be the default search provider and will supersede whatever IE8 was using.

[weeks]

Could this be an indication that the PUBLIC is not that happy with the Panda?

I think most of the credit goes to Bing. They are working very hard in the "location" arena to make their results more meaningful, which is giving them a better rep overall. That's how you do it which you are working to attract everyone. You don't go after everyone. Instead, you get better here, get better there, then in this area, that area...

With Google you are page 1 for 4-5 years and then without changing a damn thing you're on page 4...and it's your fault.

If you don't change a thing in four years, it probably is your fault.

[Rlilly]

@Four results from the same site in position 1 to 4!?

I see 1 to 7 for some sites. Plus add 10 sitelinks,, thats 17 links to one site in first 10 listings.

[yaix2]

> Google over the last year has had major changes on it's site:

And my personal "favorite":
5) Up/down keys disabled for scrolling because of the little arrow marking the first search resul... ahm, advertisement.

[jecasc]

I think Googles problem is not so much that the Search Results were bad, the problem is they are putting to many different results in the SERPS. They habe been using a shotgun approach recently: You search and get images, videos, products, local results, twitter, news all on one page. Users search for a herring and get back fish stew.

Problem is: Bing is more and more going the same road.

[drall]

Keep up the great work Bing team!

I said it last year and I will say it again, Google has completely lost the plot. If you look closely almost all of the recent misteps have been revenue driven and that is starting to burn them.

Classic example, I have a small side hobby business beyond my websites. Last week while researching simple product searches I gave up after Google kept forcing what it thought was the right meaning of a term and went to Bing who within 1 search brought back what should have been shown. This happened multiple times since Panda and now I just use Bing to research product information for that business.

That is thousands of product searches a week Google just lost from me. When you scale this out it is very easy to see why Google is heading in a bad direction fast.

[frontpage]

Makes sense that Bing is gaining in search share.

Most of the internet planet uses Facebook which is partnered with Bing for search. The more folks use Bing via Facebook, the larger the affinity for it.

The overt political nature of Google and their increasingly creepy anti-privacy initiatives has a tendency to turn off the public.

You can't expect that alienating 1/2 of the US electorate by supporting one political party and siding with the side of the Muslim Brotherhood in revolutions would not cause some hard feelings.

[rico_suarez]

Four results from the same site in position 1 to 4!?

I've seen this on several keywords. Crazy. And this never happened before Panda update. Google failed miserably with Panda. And if any movement like Webmasters against Panda comes out of all this, putting Bing search on their sites, Google could be hurt in next few years. However, if Bing doesn't go international with advertising it will never surpass Google. There are so many great English sites coming out of Europe, South America and Asia and if Bing don't reach them, they will not be able to compete with Google.

[Rosalind]

Google are turning into an engine that caters for advanced users, but one size doesn't fit all. All they need to do to regain the ground they're losing is to relaunch the classic interface of around 2005 in addition to the one they're using now, and give people a choice.

[mojomike]

What this data tells me is.

G- needs to improve search quality, the update might have done it's job, but it did not do it well enough.

Bing- the train is in motion, and the steps it's taking are correct. it must be reading tons of user feedback for these sorts of gains.

[mromero]

"However, if Bing doesn't go international with advertising it will never surpass Google. There are so many great English sites coming out of Europe, South America and Asia and if Bing don't reach them, they will not be able to compete with Google."

This is what sank Yahoo - inward, xenophobic advertising model. I predict the same will catch up and bring down Bing.

Google got it right from day one with Adsense publishers worldwide.

[mrguy]

Google got it right from day one with Adsense publishers worldwide.

Bing has something similar to Adsense already but with one major difference. They don't allow trash MFA sites on their network.

Google did not get it right from day one, they are the ones who birthed the MFA sites.

[celgins]

Keep it up Bing. This can only be good for the search industry!

[Bewenched]

Google has broken the trust of the end user

Very well put.

[moTi]

what are you talking about guys? in europe, google has a solid 95% user share since years and there is next to nothing in sight that will stop this monopoly in the near future. bing is not on people's radar. the mentioned user stats are purely u.s. specific and mean nothing if your business is outside that area.

This is what sank Yahoo - inward, xenophobic advertising model.

exactly. bing needs to get small foreign business on board to even have a chance outside their home country. otoh, i very much doubt that the average search engine user will follow some time soon.

[Rlilly]

> in europe, google has a solid 95%

There is a lot of anti Microsoft in Europe. They will come around soon.

[Swanny007]

I'm doing my part by using Bing 95% of the time for my searches. The odd time I switch to Yahoo, StartPage, or Goofle just as a reminder of what I'm not missing.

Good job, Bing, keep it up. Google is too big for their own good now.

[Decius]

Google's results are too busy, and definitely gamed. I am finally so happy to see a competitor finally gain some ground.

This is Google's entire business.

[edited by: Decius at 5:41 pm (utc) on Apr 12, 2011]

[albo]

Yep, we switched to Bing, too, a year and a half ago.

(Trying to figure out how to SEOize my sites for Bing... old noob here and was just getting a handle on the Gorg... but I'll finger it out eventually.)

[engine]

The average google user won't have a clue about Panda. They either find what they want, they give up, or they look elsewhere.

bing raising its profile with ads is a very expensive route, so some of the influence comes from its deal with yahoo, without doubt.

I'm certain that many more average surfers are becoming more aware of bing. The wife uses it now, and I never asked her to!

[bwnbwn]

I make it a real important point to ask what engine you use if I ask a person to do a search. Several years ago all I ever heard was Google. Not the case now I am seeing more and more Bing come into the conversation.

Intresting point so Google is losing some traffic doesn't seem to be in there bottom line.

[walkman]

engine, that's the idea. Get people to try you and then make them stay. It's expensive no doubt, but MSFT has plenty of cash to invest, and Bing is perfect for 99% of users.