Like most studies, surveys, and stat counts related to Internet user behavior, search market stats should generally be taken with a grain of salt. While they can give us a general idea of which search engines users flock to, there are too many variables to paint a completely accurate picture.
comScore has added an "explicit core search" metric to its search market reporting. The firm defines this as user engagement with a search service with the intent to retrieve search results. In other words - a user searching for something from the search box.
While some may have assumed that was always the case, reports haven't always reflected actual searches by users only. As Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan points out, "Companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft have inflated traditional metrics through the use of 'slideshows' and other 'contextual search' activities."
"Since March, Yahoo in particular has been gaining notable share by generating searches that many probably wouldn't consider an actual search," he writes.
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