Nielsen: Is it time to rethink search?

First, the numbers. Nielsen Online found that of the 9.4 billion search queries made in the US in May more than 5.9 billion of them were made on the Google engine; that is a 63% share. Meanwhile closest competitors Yahoo (1.6 billion search queries, 17% share) and Microsoft (890 million searches, 9% share) continue to lag behind. This despite the fact that Yahoo posted a 22% YoY growth spurt.

One thing going against Google is the amount of time spent on-site. Although more consumers are searching via Google, consumers are spending more time on Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL engines, in some cases hours more per searcher.

And then there is Bing. Debuting on June 1, Microsoft's new Bing engine immediately doubled the number of unique visitors to the MSN/Windows Live hub, pushing Microsoft's search share for that week up about 6%. However, after the relative newness wore off, consumers seemed quick to return to their old Yahoo, Google and AOL haunts rather than continue pushing Bing to the forefront.

So, is there simply too much of a lead by the Google's and Yahoo's of the world for a new engine - even a Microsoft engine - to fare well for a long period of time?

"I think that many of us can agree it is very optimistic to think of Bing as an entirely new piece of technology, but the point is that online search hasn't really changed during the last ten years. So in order for Microsoft, or any other competitor, to pick up search share in this market they will have to redefine what people think of search," said Jon Stewart, via Nielsen Online Blog.

Tags: Bing, Google, MSN/Live Search, paid search, pay per click, search engines, search marketing, search queries, Yahoo