Microsoft Bottoms Out in Search Race

Microsoft is sure making a lot of news in search these days. As reported here earlier the new look search of Kumo is lurking about although Microsoft is acting like Kumo is some kind of hallucination that deserves a homepage.

Now add to that the news reported in a Computerworld article regarding the U.S. market share of the major search engines. It appears that Microsoft’s share is at a 12 month low which is, well, not real good. Microsoft may be asking “Where’s that darn Kumo thing anyway? Maybe that really will help? It certainly can’t hurt at this point.”

Here’s the scorecard:

Google 63.3 %
Yahoo 21 %
Microsoft 8.2%
Ask 4.1%
AOL 3.9%

Overall the number of total searches grew by 32% which is a considerable number and only attests to the continuing importance of search to marketers during these uncertain times.

Back to Microsoft which is quickly becoming the most popular target in the search world’s own search for news that doesn’t involve talking about Google’s dominance or Yahoo’s whatever it is they are doing.

Microsoft keeps trying to look like they are a contender rather than pretender in the search game by hiring people like Qi Lu formerly of Yahoo as their president of Online Services. The article also talks a little more about Kumo and its future at Microsoft as the next generation of live search that is based on technology purchased from Powerset. Oh but wait, their spokesperson said that there is no intention to re-brand Live Search as Kumo. Is that the same as saying that the Kumo search offering might not replace Live Search but still maintain the Live Search name? Who knows?

There is one thing for certain though from the ComScore numbers on February US search. Google is still cleaning everyone’s clock and the rest of the ‘competitors’ continue to flail about creating headline after headline but still leaving us all to wonder if any of them will ever compete with Google. I honestly doubt it but that’s just my opinion. If Google is to ever be challenged it will be from the next generation version of what Google was just a few short years ago, an innovator that creates a better Internet mousetrap and solves problems. Any ideas who that could be?