What search engines do punters use, no loyalty!

A NielsenNetRatings report out today shows that the majority of search engine users are into trying more than one search engine

Although Google naturally comes out top for individual usage

Nielsen//NetRatings also reported today the latest rankings of online search engines based on the number of search query volume. A search is defined as a query conducted at a search engine and excludes internal site searches (e.g. searching for a stock symbol). Google Search led with 47 percent of all online searches, followed by Yahoo! Search and MSN Search with 21 percent and 13 percent,
respectively.

More than 80 percent of all searches were conducted at one of the top three search engines

There are a lot of punters using more than one search engine

According to the latest custom research from Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, 58 percent of Google searchers also visited at least one of the other top two search engines, MSN Search and Yahoo! Search

And with the other two Search Engines

The use of multiple search engines is not limited to Google’s searchers. Nearly 71 percent of those who searched at Yahoo! also visited at least one of the other top two search engines, and 70 percent of those who searched at MSN also tried their luck at one or both of the other two.

So it tells us what we already knew, that Google gets over twice as many searches as MSN and Yahoo combined, but it does show that the punter is becoming increasingly savvy in using more than one source to get information. One suspects the day when the punter just accepted what Seach Engine was on their computer when they bought it, has gone.

Good thing too, if they find a Search Engine that gives them better results than they are getting with their present favourite, then they will be off to the new favourite, faster than a ferret down a warm pair of trousers.

Right now there is really very little difference in the results, but once one of them takes the plunge and cuts the garbage then one suspects the great shift will take place