AdKnowledge said its tracking figures show that as of November, market
share of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser surpassed that of Netscape
Navigator.
AdKnowledge’s browser data was derived from a daily sample taken in November
of nearly 15 million ads served by the AdKnowledge System across more than
1,000 Web sites.
The statistics show that Explorer users in November accounted for 49.5 percent of the
browser market, while Navigator users accounted for 45 percent. The data also reveals
that Navigator’s share has steadily declined from 62 percent in January 1998 to 55 percent
in April 1 to 51 percent in July. Conversely, Internet Explorer’s share has increased
steadily from 36 percent in January.
The figures suggest that, for the first time since AdKnowledge began compiling
Internet statistics in 1996, Microsoft has taken the lead in the browser battle with
Netscape.
AdKnowledge supplies information from its Online Advertising Report (OAR) to
interactive agencies and marketers to help them optimize their Web ad
campaigns.
The report is a compilation of advertising statistics gathered from the
AdKnowledge System, which includes five components that span planning,
campaign buying and trafficking, ad serving and targeting, reporting and
analysis.
“It’s clear that Microsoft has overtaken Netscape with respect to browser
market share,” said David Zinman, co-founder and director of product management for
AdKnowledge. “The relative market share for both companies remains close,
however, so ad designers still need to develop ads with both browsers in
mind. This is a trend we’ve tracked since January 1997 when Netscape was clearly dominant with
nearly 80 percent market share. In just over a one-year period, there has been a
dramatic shift to Microsoft.”