Andre Yoskowitz
5 Oct 2009 0:19
According to data from NetApplications, Microsoft's search engine Bing has finally seen its market share slip, after months of slow gains since its launch in June.
After growing from zero to 3.52 percent from June through August, share dropped to 3.39 percent in September seemingly showing that Bing's "grand opening" luster is wearing off. Google remained the highly dominant force in the industry, at 83.31 percent of market share.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Google, Bing and Yahoo saw their market share drop, losing percentage points to other search engines, mainly Baidu.
"This is a pretty small slip for Bing, percentage-wise, and it's only from one measurement source," adds Dan Olds, analyst for The Gabriel Consulting Group. "The true tale will be told when the other folks who measure market share weigh in. Also, this isn't really a surprise. While I'm sure that Microsoft would love to see Bing steadily gain on Google, that just isn't in the cards. This is going to be a big battle that will be fought over the long term."
See the full chart here: September market share for search engines