By the numbers, comScore’s September search rankings are a bit of a snooze. After, Google is still way out in front, Yahoo remains mired in a distant second with Microsoft, as ever, bringing up the rear.
But there’s more to it than that, controversy, even! Yahoo cried foul that comScore is inflating Google’s query count with results from its new Instant feature. Meantime, Microsoft and Yahoo have completed a major phase of their search integration. Microsoft has expanded its partnership with Facebook, and Yahoo is again a rumored acquisition target.
Microsoft Bing’s market share appears to have grown by a mere 0.1 percent in September. Under the covers though, Bing is starting to become a bona fide competitor to market leader Google, according to the latest Web analytics from comScore.
And beyond the sheer numbers, expanding coalitions, growing controversy and rumors of buyouts are also muddying the waters this month. How it all works out will doubtless command the attention of SEO consultants, search marketers and search ad buyers.
