Searches across 60 search engines grew 55% in December 2005 over December 2004, Nielsen/NetRatings reports. Internet users conducted 5.1 billion searches in December, up from 3.3 billion a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the number of Internet users grew only 3% year over year, Nielsen/NetRatings reports. “The double-digit increase in online search activity marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Internet consumer behavior,” says Ken Cassar, senior director of analytics at Nielsen/NetRatings. “Online search is the primary tool most people rely on to do everyday research.”
Google, which already dominates Internet search, grew its market share by five points in December to 48.8% of all searches, up from 43.1% a year earlier. Yahoo Search was flat at 21.4%, while MSN Search lost 3 points, falling to 11%.
In number of searches, the top three search engines all experienced double-digit growth year-over-year. Google Search grew 75% to nearly 2.5 billion searches; Yahoo Search rose 53% to nearly 1.1 billion searches, and MSN Search increased 20% to 553 million searches.
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