Shoppers Connect with Brick and Mortar Stores through Search

Google Accounts for Half of all U.S. Searches in April, according to Nielsen//NetRatings
 

NEW YORK - Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media

and market research, today announced that Google accounted for 50 percent of

all searches conducted in April, followed by Yahoo! and MSN, with 22 and 11 percent,

respectively (see Table 1). Year over year, Google gained three percentage points

in market share, while Yahoo! remained flat and MSN dipped slightly.

“Google has passed a significant milestone in April, garnering half of the searches

in the U.S.,” said Michael Lanz, vice president, search industry solutions, Nielsen//NetRatings.

“We can continue to expect new features, improved functionality and rewards programs

from the top search providers as they compete to win consumers' loyalty. There

is also opportunity for smaller providers to fulfill targeted search needs,”

he continued.

Table 1: Search Share among Top 3 Search Providers, April 2006 (U.S.)

Please view in a fixed-width font such as Courier.

+-----------------+--------------+--------------+------------------+

| Search Provider |       Apr-05 |       Apr-06 | Percentage Point |

|                 | Search Share | Search Share |           Change |

+-----------------+--------------+--------------+------------------+

| Google Search   |          47% |          50% |               +3 |

| Yahoo! Search   |          22% |          22% |                0 |

| MSN Search      |          12% |          11% |               -1 |

+-----------------+--------------+--------------+------------------+

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, May 2006

The top two search engines showed robust growth over the past year.  Google Search

grew 34 percent year over year, followed by Yahoo! Search with 27 percent growth.

MSN Search rounded out the top three, growing 10 percent year over year (see

Table 2).

Table 2: Search Growth among Top 3 Search Providers, April 2006 (U.S.)

+-----------------+------------------+-----------------+-------------+

| Search Provider |  Apr-05 Searches | Apr-06 Searches |  YOY Search |

|                 |            (000) |           (000) |      Growth |

+-----------------+------------------+-----------------+-------------+

| Google Search   |        1,986,795 |       2,655,649 |         34% |

| Yahoo! Search   |          919,894 |       1,169,109 |         27% |

| MSN Search      |          515,926 |         570,080 |         10% |

+-----------------+------------------+-----------------+-------------+

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, May 2006

Traditional Brick and Mortar Stores Benefit from Shopping Search 

Consumers are increasingly connecting with major retail stores via search engines,

underscoring the influence search can have on online and offline buying. This

is particularly evident in the top five shopping keywords, all of which are brick

and mortar stores (see Table 3). 

 “As the top shopping search terms indicate, people are now using search to connect

with trusted brick and mortar stores, often those that started as traditional

offline marketplaces. These companies have each built a strong Web presence designed

to encourage consumers to buy immediately online, or give them the tools they

need to do preliminary research before making an in-store purchase.” said Lanz.

Table 3: Top 5 Shopping Search Terms, April 2006 (U.S.)

+---------------+-------+-----------------+

| Search Term   |  Rank |  Searches (000) |

+---------------+-------+-----------------+

| "home depot"  |     1 |           2,484 |

| "walmart"     |     2 |           2,251 |

| "target"      |     3 |           2,112 |

| "sears"       |     4 |           1,690 |

| "best buy"    |     5 |           1,652 |

+---------------+-------+-----------------+

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, May 2006

About Nielsen//NetRatings

NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTRT) delivers leading Internet media and market research

solutions, marketed globally under the Nielsen//NetRatings brand. With high quality,

technology-driven products and services, Nielsen//NetRatings is the global standard

for Internet audience measurement and premier source for online advertising intelligence,

enabling clients to make informed business decisions regarding their Internet

and digital strategies. The Nielsen//NetRatings portfolio includes panel-based

and site-centric Internet audience measurement services, online advertising intelligence,

user lifestyle and demographic data, e-commerce and transaction metrics, and

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