Decline in Google’s Search Engine Market Share Amid Rising Competition

Recent reports reveal a notable decline in Google’s search engine market share, as competitors like Bing and Yahoo gain ground. This shift may be partially attributed to growing concerns about the quality of Google’s search results.

StatCounter Reviewing April Data

An important update has emerged regarding the previously reported April figures for Google’s market share. StatCounter is currently reassessing the data and finalizing the numbers for April 2024. The initial figures appear to have been released prematurely, and no definitive U.S. market share number for Google has been established for April yet. The final verified data from StatCounter is still pending, so any specific figures for April should be considered preliminary and subject to change.

Market Share Trends

According to GS StatCounter, Google’s search engine market share has dropped to 86.99%, marking its lowest level since tracking began in 2009. This represents a more than 4% decline from the previous month, the largest single-month drop on record. However, it’s important to note that StatCounter’s data has limitations, such as potential sample bias and its inability to capture ‘zero-click’ searches, where users obtain information directly from the search engine results page without visiting a website.

Impact on the U.S. Market

The decline is especially significant in the U.S., where Google’s share of searches across all devices has fallen nearly 10%, now standing at 77.52%. Meanwhile, Microsoft Bing has increased its U.S. market share to 13% and 5.8% globally, achieving its highest levels since its 2009 launch. Yahoo Search has also seen a resurgence, with its global market share nearly tripling to 3.06%, a level not seen since July 2015.

Search Quality Concerns

There are growing concerns about the declining quality of Google’s search results, particularly following its recent update. These concerns, initially raised by the SEO community, are now being echoed by average users who are increasingly dissatisfied with their search experiences.

Alternative Data Insights

Adding another perspective, web analytics platform SimilarWeb suggested on X (formerly Twitter) that its U.S. data for March 2024 indicates that Google’s decline may not be as severe as initially reported.