UK Internet users made 2.3 billion visits to search engines in May 2012, up by 82 million visits compared to April 2012, according to new research.
The study, from Experian Marketing Services, found the rise in visits represents a 3.7 per cent monthly increase in search activity and a 3.6 per cent year-on-year increase.
Google increased its market share of searches for the third consecutive month whilst rival search engines bing, Yahoo! and Ask all lost market share.
In total, Google Sites accounted for 91.17 per cent of all searches conducted in the UK in May 2012, up by 0.15 per cent from April 2012.
Year-on-year Google also saw positive growth with a 0.65 per cent increase in market share of searches compared to May 2011.
Microsoft Sites led by bing lost market share of searches this month, down by 0.03 per cent with an overall market share of 3.84 per cent.
Yahoo! Sites also decreased in market share by 0.06 per cent.
The most severe decline of the month was for Ask Sites which dropped 0.08 per cent in the last month.
Other search engines monitored by Experian Marketing Services showed marginal gains as their market share increased by 0.01 per cent.
James Murray, Digital Insight Manager for Experian Marketing Services commented: “Google continues to dominate the UK search market as we’ve witnessed three consecutive months of growth in market share for the UK’s most popular search engine. However, we keep stressing it’s not all about Google. There are niche audiences and opportunities that exist by working with some of the other top search engines, and understanding who your audience is and how they convert can make a crucial difference to your digital strategy and your ROI.”
Source: www.hitwise.com
