Nielsen Online Announces February U.S. Search Share Rankings

Nielsen Online reports February 2008 data for the Top U.S. Search Providers.

Top search providers, ranked by total searches. Searches represent the total number of queries conducted at the provider.

 Table 1: Top 10 Search Providers for February 2008 Ranked by Searches (U.S.)                                    Searches    Share of    Searches per Provider                             (000)     Searches      Searcher   1.  Google Search                4,526,364      58.7%          43.2   2.  Yahoo! Search                1,360,739      17.6%          25.7   3.  MSN/Windows Live Search        860,353      11.2%          28.2   4.  AOL Search                     399,470       5.2%          17.6   5.  Ask.com Search                 195,246       2.5%          12.0   6.  My Web Search                   71,175       0.9%          17.0   7.  Comcast Search                  42,355       0.5%          12.3   8.  AT&T Worldnet Search            24,009       0.3%           9.6   9.  Dogpile.com Search              22,340       0.3%           9.1   10. NexTag Search                   21,754       0.3%           2.7 Source: Nielsen Online, MegaView Search 

Example: An estimated 4.5 billion search queries were conducted at Google Search, representing 59 percent of all search queries conducted during the given time period.

Note: Effective with October 2007 reporting, Nielsen Online has made several enhancements to its MegaPanel service. These enhancements include more granular reporting, increased accuracy, an expanded Internet universe and more advanced tracking.

Because of these methodology changes, previous results from MegaPanel-based products, including MegaView Search and MegaView Online Retail, cannot be trended with current results. While we regret that trending data is not presently available, we believe these product enhancements will provide the highest quality data possible to our clients and the marketplace.

About Nielsen Online:

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, delivers comprehensive, independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer behavior, and includes products previously marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. With high quality, technology-driven products and services, Nielsen Online enables clients to make informed business decisions regarding their Internet, digital and marketing strategies. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-online.com.

About The Nielsen Company:

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

Editor’s Note: Please source all data to Nielsen Online.

 Media Contacts: Suzy Bausch (408) 941-2965  Michelle McGiboney (408) 941-2930  

SOURCE: The Nielsen Company