The statistics show Google had less than 90% search market share in Q4 of 2024, but which competitors are benefiting?

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    30
    edit-2
    1 month ago

    tl/dr: Bing is second with 4% and Yandex is third.
    My guess is people use Bing when Microsoft literally forces them to or they don’t know how to change it (start menu search, Edge default), for downloadable images, and porn.
    Yandex is the only search engine available without fuss in Russia.

    I’m honestly really surprised that Baidu doesn’t have ~20% of the market.
    Can someone who knows more than me about China maybe explain?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      191 month ago

      Regarding Baidu it’s probably a statistic collection problem, very common in regards to measuring Chinese Internet usage

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      111 month ago

      I’m using Ecosia, which is (as far as I know) based on Bing and I really like it. The search quality really isn’t bad at all. (and I’m searching a lot online) Also it feels more to what I’m used to, without AI answers and other stuff that I don’t like at the top of the results.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      11
      edit-2
      1 month ago

      Interestingly, DDG (using bing) usually gives me the same or better results as google itself. As for yandex, while it is russian it has an english .com version as well and it has the somewhat unique ability to find things the american engines filter out, coming in handy when looking for certain things 🚢 ☠️.

      So that might make a decent subset of (western) users use those engines deliberately

    • @seanom
      link
      English
      61 month ago

      I use bing for the points. Free gamepass.

      • @kitnaht
        link
        121 month ago

        Microsoft is a nasty monopoly. I wouldn’t cheer for them. Ever.

    • @shalafi
      link
      English
      61 month ago

      Bing’s solid for porn.

      • @idiomaddict
        link
        21 month ago

        It has definitely also gotten worse in the last two ish years though. Or maybe my tastes have gotten weirder.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        31 month ago

        anywhere where the US government is less trustworthy than Russia

        oof, that’s a difficult decision…

          • @Zorque
            link
            English
            11 month ago

            You’re right! While there’s a significant amount of corruption and greed in the US, they’re at least not an outright dictatorship :)

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            11 month ago

            No, for most people it’s not a difficult decision at all.
            But the result won’t be unanimous, it’ll be split right down the middle based on where they live.

      • MudMan
        link
        fedilink
        31 month ago

        These are Statcounter stats, which are typically put together by tacking traffic reported by web sources. I’m guessing Chinese search may not be referring too many people to the sites that contribute info to Statcounter.

        Also worth noting that AI search isn’t counted hear, as far as the original source can tell. Maybe Google users are more likely to migrate to AI solutions (or just have more AI solutions available) than some of the alternatives listed here.

        • @Eagle0110
          link
          English
          21 month ago

          Then it probably also contributed to it, that if we can assume most users of Baidu are Chinese people in mainland China, then most of them wouldn’t be visit many non-domestic/non-Chinese website where StatCounter could get their tracking traffic reports from, because of a combination of CCP’s internet censorship that practically runs on a whitelist and blocks most nondomest website by default, as well as language barrier since most PRC residents have barely any functional English skill (like the ability to actually understand others in English or express ideas in English, as opposed to merely earn scores on a standardized English exam).

          • MudMan
            link
            fedilink
            31 month ago

            Yeah. I don’t know what stats they can aggregate, but I imagine they skew non-Chinese.

            I’m very skeptical of Statcounter stuff in general, although it’s at least apples to apples if you’re tracking something over time. Google is likely dropping in usage. Where that’s going is maybe a bridge too far for what’s being collected.