Search on Google, IM on Yahoo

Google has been rated the ‘best online search site’, by Internet metrics company, comScore Networks (for US users). Google continues to lead with 47.4% of the marketshare, followed by Yahoo, with approximately 28% and MSN, with a mere 12.9%. However, Hitwise, another online agency (again for US users), has made vertical comparisons between the three major search engines and concluded that Google is not faring too well in terms of mainstream users. For example, Yahoo takes the lead in email usage, with a market share of 42.4% where as Google’s Gmail has a measly 2.54% of marketshare. Moreover, Yahoo also takes the lead segments such as news and media, business and finance, and travel maps. Meanwhile, Google is trying really hard to make a niche for itself in areas such as web mail, blogging, photo sharing, RSS, online calendar and instant messaging. Google Talk is talking time to catch on as users don’t find it half as fancy or engaging to use as MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. Google will have to outdo itself on this turf if it wants a stronghold, as internet users are already used to the familiar msn and yahoo messengers.