You might not believe it, but Google is not as strong as it used to be. New numbers from GS Statcounter from April’s statistics show that Google’s share of the search market has dropped to 86.99%, the lowest since 2009. The decrease is over 4% compared to last month, making it the biggest drop in a single month ever recorded.
Impact on the US Market
The biggest drop seems to happen in Google’s main market, the United States. Its share of searches on all devices decreased by almost 10%, landing at 77.52%.
Increase in Competitors’ Market Share
As Google’s grip loosens, competitors like Microsoft Bing and Yahoo have yet to take the opportunity to capitalise. Bing’s market share in the U.S. has soared to 13% and 5.8% worldwide, its highest since it started in 2009. Yahoo’s global share has nearly tripled to 3.06%, which has not been seen since July 2015. This growth indicates a broader acceptance and satisfaction with their search services, which now seem to resonate better with users’ expectations
Factors Contributing to the Decline
There are many reasons why Google’s share is going down, but one big reason is that people aren’t happy with the search results they’re getting. They say the stuff Google shows them isn’t as helpful or relevant as it used to be. This is because of a few things: Some folks think Google’s results could be more accurate, there are too many ads getting in the way of the real stuff, and sometimes, not-so-good content shows up because people are tricking Google’s system.
The impact of these poor search results on Google’s market dominance can be examined through various lenses
Firstly, when people feel like they can’t rely on a search engine anymore, their trust slips away. We mainly use search engines to quickly find exactly what we’re looking for. But when we get something that seems wrong or unfair, we start to doubt whether the search engine is doing its job well. That’s when we start looking for other places to search instead.
Lily Ray, senior director of search engine optimisation at digital marketing agency Amsive Digital, showed frustration in her recent post,
Jack Forge also shared his thoughts on Google’s unusability in this post:
Secondly, other search engines are becoming more popular. They’re taking advantage of people’s frustration with Google. These competitors are slowly gaining more users because they promise things like keeping your info private, showing fewer ads, and giving fair results. For instance, If you’re trying to sell to people who care about keeping their info private, they might prefer using DuckDuckGo.
Impact of Poor Search Results on Google’s Market Dominance
Expert Opinions on Declining Search Results
People who study the industry have been talking a lot about how Google’s search results aren’t as good as they used to be. Since the latest update, many folks who work in SEO have been worried that the stuff Google shows isn’t always right or helpful. These changes might push people to try other search engines.
User Perception of Search Engine Degradation
Not just experts but also regular users feel that Google’s search results are getting messier with ads and are less helpful for what they’re looking for. This feeling matters because it affects how people use and trust Google. More ads showing up, sometimes even more than the actual search results, make people annoyed and tired of searching. And now, there’s also a lot of spam in the results, making it even harder for people to find good information they can trust.
User Feedback on Search Result Quality
People aren’t keeping quiet about their problems, either. You can see many complaints about Google’s search results on social media and forums. People are upset about old info showing up and stuff that has nothing to do with what they’re searching for. This shows that what people want and what Google gives them don’t match up.
Here is a post by Alex Hernandez, talked about how Google is destroying independent sites,
Google’s Market Share Trends
The way Google’s market share is going doesn’t look good for them. It’s dropping fast, especially in places like the U.S., where they’ve always been really strong. This suggests that what people want and how they’re searching online is changing a lot. And if this keeps up, it could completely change how we do searches online in the future.
