Google Raises Internet Search Market Share Again in December; Bing Drops Share

Bottom line: Google, unless it trips up so many different ways so drastically, won't ever let go of its lead on U.S. search. Yahoo! may try and turn into a content portal (similar to AOL's current strategy) and form its business around unique content and not just as an access door to the entire internet. Google's lion's share of revenue from search will continue tempting both Yahoo and Microsoft as they continue their partnership to scrape up revenue scraps from whatever Google doesn't take. Is that worh it for both companies? Sure -- but it's no challenge to Google.

Do all the other search services even matter? No -- but they may stand around trying to garner any kind of revenue they can for as long as it makes financial sense. The interesting factoid here is that Bing -- Microsoft's mighty attempt to compete with Google, dropped in December after consecutive increases in all the months prior since the official launch of the service. Did it not work that well for customers? Even though Nielsen numbers like this are estimates and not hard figures, the fact remains: Google will outpace all others -- combined - with more then double the market share. This isn't a Kent-Nooyi fight either -- Google is so far out in front that it can't do anything but stay there. For everyone else, why even compete?