Bing-powered U.S. searches rise to 29% in August

By Tom Warren, on 9th Sep 11 7:59 pm with 51 Comments

Microsoft’s Bing-powered searches now accounts for 29% in the United States.

Bing-powered search increased in August according to the latest stats from Experian Hitwise. 29% of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending August 27, 2011 were powered by Bing. Yahoo search made up 15.89% of searches and Bing by itself 13.10%, combined they make up 29%. In the same time frame, Google accounted for 65% of all U.S. searches.

The most recent comScore figures, released in August, paint a similar picture. comScore says that Bing held on to 14.4% of U.S. market share during July. Microsoft’s Bing search engine appears to be holding its significant gains of recent months. Bing reached an all time high of 11.8% market share in November but has improved upon the figure between December and July. Microsoft’s Bing search volume increased by 29% during 2010 according to comScore. ComScore says the U.S. search market rose by 12% last year.

The outlook looks good for Bing too. Microsoft announced a renewed Bing search deal with Twitter on Tuesday. The deal will see Twitter continue to share its tweets with Bing search results.. Bing uses Twitter data for its real time search queries, something that Google had to temporarily disable after failing to establish a new agreement with Twitter. Microsoft is also preparing to unveil a new Bing web app for Windows 8. The web app will include a tile based version of Bing with touch friendly navigation. The software maker is expected to make the web app available with copies of the Windows 8 Developer Preview.

U.S. searches from top search engine providers in August 2011 - Experian Hitwise

  • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

    Bing is a force to be reckoned  with, people keep saying that Bing sucks and that Google is better but MS can pull off what its doing with all of the integration Bing has. Go Bing!

    • phil jay

      Bing sucks, seriously… In Switzerland maps doesn’t even find several adresses(I mean I understand it doesn’t find restaurants and stuff, but I’m talking bout adresses). Also the bing version here is some very old one, you need to change your location to USA in order to get the current version. I argree it’s the most polished and smooth experience out there, but not global at all.

    • http://twitter.com/BosDev Luc Bos

      I wouldn’t go over the top and start saying its sucks but you certainly have a point about the globality of the service. 

      When I do a Bing search in Belgium compared to a Google search, it’s very rare that the Bing search will hand me the right results.

      On my Windows Phone 7 it also sucks that it doesn’t find some addresses.

    • Anonymous

      I find Bing Maps especially good. Even though I don’t necessarily use Bing search, I tend to use its Maps feature to look up places, like my home in Luxembourg. You can get a 360 degree view of my house,with nothing being obscured by the camera angle (like on Google Maps). The picture is also MUCH clearer than that on Google Maps. The bad thing about Bing Maps is that not all of the world is photographed to this detail, in fact, in some places Google Maps has a better picture. But for areas like Europe and maybe the US, I would say that Bing provides a better picture.

  • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

    Bing is a force to be reckoned  with, people keep saying that Bing sucks and that Google is better but MS can pull off what its doing with all of the integration Bing has. Go Bing!

  • http://twitter.com/imaxxhd Maximilian Hernandez

    Bing is something that will come so unexcpectedly, and take people by surprise, once they break from monotony, i suggest a UI overhaul, color, balance and metro elements.

  • FuzzyLogician

    It’s a shame Bing rose only 1% while Yahoo rose 5%.  Most users have no idea Yahoo is powered by Bing and probably don’t care.

    • Anonymous

      it is better than google’s -1 :) and I’m sure MSFT will take that.

    • Aaron

      Considering the billions they have put into Bing, I doubt MSFT will be breaking out the Champagne bottles over 1%.  That probably isn’t even greater than the margin of error for that type of survey.

    • Guest

      Um, that was sort of the plan.

  • Avatar Roku

    Do comscore and Experian take into account Facbook searches cause Bing also powers web search on Facebook.

  • Avatar Roku

    Do comscore and Experian take into account Facbook searches cause Bing also powers web search on Facebook.

    • Guest

      I believe so, yes. The real advantage of Facebook users for Bing is that they do way more searches than average Bing users. So it shows up more in search volume.

    • Guest

      I believe so, yes. The real advantage of Facebook users for Bing is that they do way more searches than average Bing users. So it shows up more in search volume.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11814278 Chris Woelfel

    Good job for MS sticking to it with search. Competition is great.

    • Guest

      Except that it’s cost MS about $8b in losses so far. Other than that, it’s awesome.

    • Aaron

      I mostly like Bing and all, but you are right.  I hope their market share grows and they start making some actual money off the product, but we still have to be realistic.  Seeing all these comments almost makes it seem Bing is crushing Google.

    • Guest

      The realistic assessment is that Google enjoys a 90+ share in most geographies outside of north america. They’re effectively untouchable there. And Bing/Yahoo’s modest gains here have been insufficient. MS can no longer sustain the ongoing losses now that the recession and rise of tablets is eating into their Windows business and revenue there is declining. And Yahoo will soon be sold off in chunks because the parts are worth 40% more than the whole. So the leverage hoped for from that agreement, which hasn’t really been apparent so far, is never coming. MS will have to do something else. The social integration angle (i.e. FB) looks to have some legs. But MS’s best chance in search is Google getting nailed by the DOJ and EU. That’s about the only way they can turn this from a major loser into a profit generator. And the problem there is Bing’s existence, despite losing money, is one of the main things preventing the DOJ or EU from declaring Google a monopoly.

      Another bad decision by Ballmer. Didn’t think it through. Didn’t figure out how to change the game. Just entered with no plan in his usual stupid style, lost billions why “learning” the business, and now too invested to get out but lacking the positioning to succeed.

    • Anonymous

      There is no enough difference in their Windows business to change the situation:

      Revenue for the “Windows & Windows Live Division”, Quarter ending June 30:

      2011  $4.740 billion
      2010  $4.781 billion

      Profit
      2011 $2.943 billion
      2010 $3.066 billion

      http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY11/Q4/default.aspx

      Browser share will drive search share, and Microsoft has essentially zero browser share in mobile.  

    • Guest

      “Browser share will drive search share, and Microsoft has essentially zero browser share in mobile.”

      Old thinking. Search is becoming an integrated app in FB, in iOS, etc. MS is playing there now and will continue. And obviously they’re hoping to improve their WP7 showing once Nokia comes on board. Whether they will or not is tbd.   

    • Anonymous

      Microsoft just posted record revenue figures.  You really shouldn’t talk as if you know and its obvious that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

      Bing will continue to take marketshare away from Google.  The iPad app is phenomenal and the same style app is coming to Windows 8 tablets and the desktop.  Did I mention Xbox searches powered by Bing?

    • Anonymous

      Microsoft just posted record revenue figures.  You really shouldn’t talk as if you know and its obvious that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

      Bing will continue to take marketshare away from Google.  The iPad app is phenomenal and the same style app is coming to Windows 8 tablets and the desktop.  Did I mention Xbox searches powered by Bing?

    • Guest

      What part of Windows revenue did you miss?

    • Anonymous

      Windows Revenue went down ever so slightly, and that doesn’t exactly have much to do with Bing. Bing is their plan to the cloud, and to abandon it is sheer idiocy. Maybe a re-branding, but they’d have to start all over. Furthermore, Bing is actually a really good product, that just simply isn’t being used enough. Mind share is where Google is winning. People still say “google it” despite using bing. The social networking integration has huge potential. Google even copied them with using the + button, and google plus is nowhere near as ubiquitous as facebook.

    • Ben

      True. Mind share is the biggest advantage Google has; people may refuse to use Bing simply because they prefer to or are used to using Google, even if in 85% – 90% of cases Bing is just as good.

    • GP007

      The “Online services” devision which is the one that has the losses isn’t Bing itself, people seem to want to blame it all on Bing but are forgetting things, important things,  Online services also covers Windows Azure, and iirc Office 365.  The key here is that those two things, and bing, need lots of backend systems, datacenters etc.  Most of that “loss” isn’t a loss at all in the sense that it’s, as MS states, “growing opperating expensess.”  as in, they’re spending more on building datacenters etc to cover their future needs for Bing, Azure and Office 365.    

      Google grew it’s backend slowlly and cheaplly as it needed to overtime, it thus didn’t showup, MS is doing it quick and spending big, or rather, investing big, on the backend so it can push these services quicker, thus the higher costs.   

    • Ben

      Well said.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11814278 Chris Woelfel

    Good job for MS sticking to it with search. Competition is great.

  • http://twitter.com/oolong2 oolong2

    Bimg is good at a lot of things but basic search is still off.  I always end up using Google for the obscure stuff I need to search for.

    • Aaron

      I find Bing usually just as good at the obscure stuff as Google.  Where Bing falls short for me though is maps.  I usually try to plan my trips on Bing maps, but sometimes I get frustrated and have to switch to Google Maps.  Also, I prefer Google News.

    • Guest

      And street view.

    • Guest

      And street view.

    • Anonymous

      I agree Google Maps is better, but I do like how Bing presents the information and maps clearer, if with less information like traffic updates and estimated time.

  • http://twitter.com/oolong2 oolong2

    Bimg is good at a lot of things but basic search is still off.  I always end up using Google for the obscure stuff I need to search for.

  • http://w1ngnut.myopenid.com/ w1ngnut

    Bing is getting bigger!!! Plus MS is adding great features to it such as tweets, music search, places, etc.

  • Alique Williams

    I still don’t understand why MS didn’t required Yahoo to have the “Powered by Bing” logo or something similar to the MSN.com search bar.

    • Guest

      MS wasn’t exactly in a position to dictate terms. Plus, the deal only got approved because Yahoo and MS argued Yahoo wasn’t getting out of search. Putting a big “Powered by BIng” would have undermined that.

  • Anonymous

    I use both Bing and Goggle.   Not much difference really.

    • Guest

      Which is one of the main problems. To beat a dominant incumbent you have to at a minimum be much better (or at least be perceived as such). MSN was seen as a far worse, which is why is just lost share. Bing has managed to impress some as being a little better in some areas, which is why it’s gained a little share. But still not sufficient. Facebook is a much greater threat to Google because it fundamentally changes the search game and leverages social strengths that Google has repeatedly failed at (though their recent Google+ got a bit more traction.)

  • Aaron

    Considering Bing is still distant to Google, statements like “Bing held on to 14.4% of U.S. market share” are kind of laughable.  I know its good to find the positive side of things, but Bing needs to grow, and grow quicker, not just hold onto their current market share.  Bing has been costing MS billions every year and it has not grown fast enough.  Honestly, I think the best move MS could make to increase market share is to make Bing the default homepage in IE10 on Windows 8.  The first thing people do when they see the cluttered MSN home page on start up is switch it to Google (or download Firefox/Chrome with Google default).  It’s all about first impression out of the box experience.  I hope MS knows to focus on that for W8.

    • Guest

      Yeah. The fact is Bing was growing month after month and that has now stalled. One month could have been a fluke. Multiple months is confirmation. And given all the placement deals MS has entered into, that’s not a good result. If they had launched the HTML 5 version they could have probably gotten another bump from that, with new users coming to check out the experience. Instead, they’re really done very little for quite a while now (at least in search time lines).

  • Guest

    Bing can’t be happy to have not grown for two consecutive reporting periods now.

    • Major Plonquer

      Err, it grew by 1% in 1 month.  In this business that’s huge.

    • Major Plonquer

      Err, it grew by 1% in 1 month.  In this business that’s huge.

  • Jinge

    US again…
    They need some recognition in France! Nobody knows bing, even if it has a great homepage! ^^
    I think its share may rise if WP7 really gets into the market. W8 will help too. They should put a “bing” logo somewhere.

  • Jinge

    US again…
    They need some recognition in France! Nobody knows bing, even if it has a great homepage! ^^
    I think its share may rise if WP7 really gets into the market. W8 will help too. They should put a “bing” logo somewhere.

  • GP007

    Bing will see more steady growth again now that Yahoo is falling apart once more, Bing is going to be at the core of the new Xbox360 dashboard, new WP Mango devices ship and also the upcoming updates to Hotmail, skydrive and so on will all help expose Bing to more people.

  • Anonymous

    is it a fanboy of me to use Bing just for the sake of to try to raise its market share?? lolololol.. after doing that for some time, I’ve realized that I don’t need google.  lol.. for a few month now, I’ve never opened google.com to search.. what an achievement!! now everywhere I go, I tried to change other PCs homepage to bing.com.. XD

  • Guest

    I think most of the Anti-Bing here are not getting the point. The only money making product of Google is search. Every -1% Google gets means lesser income for Google.

    Now MSFT has a lot of money making products, they can lost money and do it for the next 10 years to gain another 15%-20% of the market share.

    At Bing’s 40%-50% market share after 10 years it’s already enough to crush Google at it can not sustain to support most of it’s free operation movements now that they have 50% or lower market share and 15%-20% less revenue. Which will cause chain effect of even losing more search traffic.

    Google current traffic are superficial right now, They have lots of free stuff going on just to maintain it’s traffic like YouTube and etc. Let’s see what happen if more the likes of Twitter and Facebook comes out and partner with MSFT. Isn’t this exactly the what Google is worried that’s why they’re also losing money right now on Google+?

  • Major Plonquer

    Greetings from China.  What’s Bing?

  • Major Plonquer

    Greetings from China.  What’s Bing?