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Google Inc. saw its lead in the Internet search market slacken in December, according to data released Friday by Nielsen Online. Google garnered a 56.3% share of the U.S. search market in December, compared to a 57.7% share in the previous month, according to Nielsen. Yahoo Inc.Microsoft Corp. was the only company among the three largest search providers to see an increase in December, as its share rose to 13.8% of the U.S. market from 12% the previous month, according to Nielsen.
Google's Share of Search Slips, Microsoft Gains [marketwatch.com]
Nielsen and Hitwise do agree on one thing: Google has an overwhelming share of U.S. search.
This year should be interesting.
1 - Live.com is clearly still struggling with even the basics like 301s.
2 - MSN and Y! compete heavily in the portal space, while Google does not.
3 - Live would viewed as a step back for Y! while Google would be perceived as an improvement.
I have to admit, that it would be a shame for Y! to give up.
Also there is a much closer relationship with MS within Yahoo then Google, there always has been. I love speculation...
Even if the rumor was true, I'd think Yahoo would outsource to Google - for a couple of reasons:
Wouldn't the right financial arrangement trump each and every one of those reasons?
No.
When our company evaluates an opportunity like this we use a scoring matrix. Money is one factor, but it is certainly not the deciding factor - especially with a deal like this one. That would be pretty short-sighted.
[edited by: BillyS at 3:38 am (utc) on Jan. 21, 2008]
how much do you think they will have to pay Yahoo to use Live? I was thinking something like a $1 billion might do it.
On the savings side:
Hardware reduction
Workforce reduction (development, sales, support)
On the loss side:
Controlling their own destiny
Controlling their click costs and splits
Yahoo Publishers Network
Relying on a competitor for a large source of income (Didn't they buy Overture and Inktomi because of this?)
It does come down to what is best for their stock price. Is it more attractive to strip down part of the company and replace part of that income with minimal overhead?
If Yahoo does shutter their PPC dept and switch to Adwords, it could be a very serious indicator that we are in a recession... not just an economic downturn.
Company executives have said that to achieve its “starting point” goal, Yahoo would continue to invest in areas like Internet search, e-mail, the Yahoo front page and the personalized home-page service MyYahoo, as well as news, finance and sports.
So it looks like Y! considers search core, so MSN will have to find market share elsewhere.
um. does anyone actually believe hitwise data? I've never found it better than ballpark, sometimes right out of the ballpark
Nielsen/NetRatings isn't perfect, either. For one thing, sites can assign their traffic to other sites, which is legitimate for purposes of advertising sales ("Our network deliver an audience of XX zillion readers") but creates confusion and inaccuracy if you want to compare the real-life rankings of Site A (which assigns its traffic) and Site B (which doesn't).
Even in the print world, traffic figures can get fuzzy. If the WIDGETVILLE POST distributes a million free copies per month via a sponsorship deal, is it legitimate for the POST to claim those million copies as paid circulation (as some metropolitan newspapers have done and maybe still do)?
