Google now has more than 50% of U.S. search market

Google's marketshare for overall U.S. web search activity increased from 47% in April 2005 to over 50% as of the end of April 2006, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Consider how significant that marketshare figure is: Across the globe, billions of searches are occurring every year -- tens of billions. This happens across languages, countries and political barriers. Google has nearly half that market, and it's now even more than 50% in the U.S. search market.

While Microsoft's new AdCenter promises more finely-tuned customer targeting in it search ads, and Yahoo's Project Panama is still a ways away, Google will likely continue to rake in advertising co-op dollars for the foreseeable future.

Although Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft all saw increased search activity over the last year in the U.S., Google increased its lead at the same time, growing its search faster than anyone.

Did this come through more partnerships, better word-of-mouth, a more intuitive customer product and experience -- or all three? My guess is that all three contributed. If Google remains as dominant as it is now, few will be able to challenge this web search giant.