The search battle in the U.K. is for second place, with Google far ahead of the field, according to Hitwise (via PC Advisor), which says Yahoo's share of U.K. searches has increased and is tied with that of MSN, with Yahoo Search and MSN Search each accounting for over 7 percent of U.K. Internet searches in the four weeks ended May 20. Google continues to dominate the U.K. search market, powering 77 percent of U.K. searches for the same period.
Google U.K. is also the most visited website in the U.K., receiving more than twice the share of visits second-ranked MSN Hotmail. In the US, Yahoo Search is a stronger competitor.
Google's association with search is so strong that 85 percent of U.K. visits to Google properties went to either the U.K. or U.S. search engine. By contrast, Yahoo's portal and its email service are its strongest properties in the U.K., and MSN's strengths are in its communication services.
"Google is the undisputed favorite in search in the U.K.; however, Yahoo and MSN are much more popular for other services" said Hitwise's Heather Hopkins. "Consumers are moving among these three internet brands and seem to clearly distinguish the uses of each. U.K. consumers use Google to navigate and search the web, MSN to communicate and Yahoo for content."
