In April 2025, Google accounted for ***** percent of the search market in the United States across all devices. Bing followed as the second leading search provider in the United States during the last examined month, with a share of around *** percent, among the engine's highest quotas registered in the country to date.

As of March 2025, Google continued to dominate the global search engine industry by far, with an 89.62 percent market share. However, this stronghold may be showing signs of erosion, with its share across all devices dipping to its lowest point in over two decades. Bing, Google's closest competitor, currently holds a market share of 4.01 percent across, while Russia-based Yandex hikes to the third place with a share of around 2.51 percent. Competitive landscape and regional variations While Google's overall dominance persists, other search engines carve out niches in various markets and platforms. Bing holds a 12.21 percent market share across desktop devices worldwide, as Yandex and Baidu have found success inside and outside of their home markets. Yandex is used by over 63 percent of Russian internet users, but Baidu has seen its market share significantly in China As regional variations highlight the importance of local players in challenging Google's global supremacy, the company is likely to face more challenges with the AI-powered online search trend and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Search behavior and antitrust concerns Despite facing more competition, Google remains deeply ingrained in users' online habits. In 2024, "Google" itself was the most popular search query on its own platform, followed by "YouTube" - another Google-owned property. This self-reinforcing ecosystem has drawn scrutiny from regulators, with the European Commission imposing millionaire antitrust fines on the company. As its influence extends beyond search into various online services, the company's market position continues to be a subject of debate among industry watchdogs and authorities worldwide.

As of March 2025, Google represented 79.1 percent of the global online search engine market on desktop devices. Despite being much ahead of its competitors, this represents the lowest share ever recorded by the search engine in these devices for over two decades. Meanwhile, its long-time competitor Bing accounted for 12.21 percent, as tools like Yahoo and Yandex held shares of over 2.9 percent each. Google and the global search market Ever since the introduction of Google Search in 1997, the company has dominated the search engine market, while the shares of all other tools has been rather lopsided. The majority of Google revenues are generated through advertising. Its parent corporation, Alphabet, was one of the biggest internet companies worldwide as of 2024, with a market capitalization of 2.02 trillion U.S. dollars. The company has also expanded its services to mail, productivity tools, enterprise products, mobile devices, and other ventures. As a result, Google earned one of the highest tech company revenues in 2024 with roughly 348.16 billion U.S. dollars. Search engine usage in different countries Google is the most frequently used search engine worldwide. But in some countries, its alternatives are leading or competing with it to some extent. As of the last quarter of 2023, more than 63 percent of internet users in Russia used Yandex, whereas Google users represented little over 33 percent. Meanwhile, Baidu was the most used search engine in China, despite a strong decrease in the percentage of internet users in the country accessing it. In other countries, like Japan and Mexico, people tend to use Yahoo along with Google. By the end of 2024, nearly half of the respondents in Japan said that they had used Yahoo in the past four weeks. In the same year, over 21 percent of users in Mexico said they used Yahoo.

In January 2025, Google remained by far the most popular search engine in the UK, holding a market share of ***** percent across all devices. That month, Bing had a market share of approximately **** percent in second place, followed by Yahoo! with approximately **** percent. The EU vs Google Despite Google’s dominance of the search engine market, maintaining its position at the top has not been a smooth ride. Google’s market share saw a decline in the summer of 2018, plummeting to an all-time-low in July. The search engine experienced a similar dip in June and July 2017. These two low points coincided with the European Commission’s antitrust charges against the company, both of which were unprecedented in the now decade-long duel between both parties. As skepticism towards search engine platforms grows in line with public concern regarding censorship and data privacy, alternative services like Duckduckgo offer users both information protection and unfiltered results. Despite this, it still held less than *** percent of the industry’s market share as of June 2021. Perception of fake news in the UK According to a questionnaire conducted in the United Kingdom in 2018, **** percent of respondents had come across inaccurate news on social media at least once before. Rising concerns over fake news, or information which has been manipulated to influence the public has been a hot topic in recent years. The younger generation however, remains skeptical with nearly **** of Generation Z claiming to be either unconcerned about fake news, or believed that it did not exist altogether.

In January 2025, Google accounted for 93.89 percent of the global mobile search engine market worldwide. Ever since the release of Google Search in 1997, the company's search engine has dominated the search engine market, maintaining a margin of more than 93 percentage points since January 2015. Currently owned by the parent corporation Alphabet Inc., Google has one of the highest tech company revenues, with roughly 305.63 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

The Search Engine industry is highly concentrated, with three companies controlling almost the entire industry; the largest company, Alphabet Inc., has a market share greater than 96%. Search engines provide web portals that generate and maintain extensive databases of internet addresses. Industry companies generate most, if not all, of their revenue from advertising. Technological growth has resulted in more households being connected to the Internet, and a boom in e-commerce has made the industry increasingly innovative. Over the past decade, a climb in the percentage of households with internet access has supported revenue growth, while increasing technological integration with daily life has increased demand for industry services. A greater proportion of transactions being carried out online has driven innovation in targeted digital advertising, with declines in rival advertising formats like print media and television increasing the focus on digital marketing as a core strategy. Industry revenue is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 4.7%, to reach £5.1 billion over the five years through 2024-25. Revenue is forecast to climb by 4.7% in 2024-25. Industry profit has remained high, expanding to 34.2% in 2024-25. The rise of the mobile advertising market and the proliferation of mobile devices mean there are plenty of opportunities for search engines, which are expected to capitalise on these trends further moving forward. Smartphones could disrupt the industry's status quo, as the rising popularity of devices that do not use Google as the default engine benefits other search providers. Technological advancements that incorporate user data are anticipated to make it easier to tailor advertisements and develop new ways of using consumer data. Industry revenue is forecast to jump at a compound annual rate of 6% over the five years through 2029-30, to reach £6.8 billion.

Search engines, which collect, organize and display knowledge of the internet, are the backbone of the information age and have helped popularize the ad-supported attention economy that prevails throughout the internet. From 2019 to 2024, spending on internet advertising has maintained strong momentum as consumer demand for internet access continued to surge, driven by the adoption of LTE, 5G and unlimited mobile data plans. Despite COVID-19 depressing total advertising expenditure, digital advertising continued to grow as consumers practically lived online while stay-at-home orders were in place. As a result, search engine revenue from advertising is slated to mount at a CAGR of 10.4% to $287.5 billion, including an anticipated hike of 8.4% in 2024, with profit at 18.7%. The search engine industry is fundamentally differentiated from the rest of the economy by its advertising sales framework, market aggregation and high interconnection with other industries. While search is a consumer product, search revenue comes from a platform's desirability to advertisers, not users. Search platforms must balance providing the best search experience while integrating as many advertisements as possible. This difficult balance is challenging to achieve because advertising dollars tend to scale best on the leading search platform, increasing aggregation forces for search providers. The market leaders in search, Google and Microsoft, have met this balance by using advertising revenue to grow a suite of services designed to collect extensive behavior information on and off the search website. This data then targets ads to hyper-specific markets, funding the search business model. As the number of hours spent on the internet continues to mount, search engine revenue is poised to climb at a CAGR of 7.1% to $404.9 billion through the end of 2029. Advertisers will rely increasingly on search engine marketing due to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency advantages over traditional media. With proper analytics software installed, marketers can track which terms, advertisements and websites are the most effective, enabling incremental real-time tweaks and improvements in advertising campaigns. Artificial intelligence has promised to change the purpose of search from navigation to finding answers, which will change the structure of the internet, just as search engine providers have done many times before.

In May 2025, the online search engine Bing accounted for 4.11 percent of the European search market across all devices, while market leader Google held a search traffic share of around 89.45 percent. Meanwhile, Yandex's market share was 3.72 percent, while Yahoo! represented around 1.08 percent.

In the observed period, Google increased its lead as the search engine with the largest market share in Czechia. At the beginning of 2015, it had roughly ** percent, however, this figure rose to nearly ** percent by March 2025. Accordingly, the market share of the second-largest Czech search engine - Seznam, slowly decreased over time. In January 2015, it still amounted for ***** percent market share, however, the share fell to less than ** percent. The share of the other engines fluctuated except for YANDEX RU, as its market share dropped to ****, yet Yandex was still active in Czechia.

In May 2025, Google led the European desktop search market, holding a market share of around 77.93 percent. Its biggest worldwide competitor Bing accounted for 11.7 percent of the European desktop search market. Meanwhile, Yandex's mobile market share in Europe was 5.52 percent.

In the last five years, the web portal industry has recorded significant revenue growth. Industry revenue increased by an average of 3.8% per year between 2019 and 2024 and is expected to reach 12.6 billion euros in the current year. The web portal industry comprises a variety of platforms such as social networks, search engines, video platforms and email services that are used by millions of users every day. These portals enable the exchange of information and communication as well as entertainment. Web portals generate their revenue mainly through advertising, premium services and commission payments. User numbers are rising steadily as more and more people go online and everyday processes are increasingly digitalised.In 2024, industry revenue is expected to increase by 3.2 %. Although the industry is growing, it is also facing challenges, particularly in terms of data protection. Web portals are constantly collecting user data, which can lead to misuse of the collected data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced in the European Union in 2018 has prompted web portal operators to review their data protection practices and amend their terms and conditions in order to avoid fines. The aim of this regulation is to improve the protection of personal data and prevent data misuse.The industry's turnover is expected to increase by an average of 3.6% per year to 15 billion euros over the next five years. Video platforms such as YouTube often generate losses despite high user numbers. The reasons for this are the high costs of operation and infrastructure as well as expenses for copyright issues and compliance. Advertising on video platforms is perceived negatively by users, but is successful when it comes to attracting attention. Politicians are debating the taxation of revenues generated by internationally operating web portals based in tax havens. Another challenge is the copying of concepts, which inhibits innovation in the industry and can lead to legal problems.

In May 2025, Google led the European mobile search market, holding a market share of around 94.54 percent. Its biggest worldwide competitor, Bing, accounted for only 0.59 percent of the European mobile search market. Meanwhile, Yandex's mobile market share in Europe was 3.04 percent.

The internet has become an essential part of everyday life, with consumers spending hours online and businesses using it to provide and promote services and products. Businesses therefore, spend heavily on digital advertising to reach and engage with consumers, replacing traditional channels like TV and print. Digital ad spending is surging demand for SEO and internet marketing consultants. These consultants advise businesses on enhancing their online presence, generating more online traffic and ultimately boosting sales. Industry revenue is expected to swell at a compound annual rate of 6.9% over the five years through 2024-25 to £22.3 billion, including an anticipated 7.6% hike in 2024-25. Businesses invest in Internet marketing because it's cost-effective, with social media marketing and engaging video content driving online traffic and creating a connection with consumers. The SEO and Internet Marketing industry is resilient despite recent economic challenges, like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict that have hurt business confidence. However, marketing consultants serve businesses in all types of sectors, limiting revenue volatility and allowing for sustained demand even in poor economic climates. A consistently budding number of UK businesses provide consultants with a grander potential client pool. Strong demand and low barriers to setting up an SEO and internet marketing consulting business have drawn a lot of new companies to the market — many of these offer lower fees to attract clients from competitors, constraining industry profit. SEO and internet marketing consulting revenue is forecast to swell at a compound annual rate of 8.5% over the five years through 2029-30 to £33.6 billion. As economic conditions continue to improve in the coming years, businesses will expand their marketing budgets. Businesses will seek to develop their online presence and outcompete rivals in the progressively competitive online marketplace, seeking expert advice on boosting traffic, exposure and conversions. Using artificial intelligence and creating video content will also help prop up the industry's improved performance as smart device usage envelops the UK. However, mounting competition could weigh on revenue and profit, with a fair few businesses taking marketing operations in-house.

Over the period presented, the share of search engine marketing in the online total advertising market in Poland fluctuated. In 2024, search engine marketing accounted for **** percent of the online advertising market in the country.

In January 2025, online search engine Bing accounted for almost *** percent of the global tablet search market, while market leader Google had a share of over ** percent. Meanwhile, Yandex's tablet search market share was of **** percent, while Yahoo! represented little less than *** percent on these devices.

This industry includes the activities of web search portals, data processing and hosting activities, as well as other activities that primarily supply information.

In a country with over *********** internet users, China's search engine industry was estimated to reach *** billion yuan in 2023. Baidu has been the largest online search provider in the country while Google has been officially banned since 2010.

This group includes the provision of infrastructure for hosting, data processing services and related activities, as well as search facilities and other portals for the Internet.

This industry includes the activities of web search portals, data processing and hosting activities, as well as other activities that primarily supply information.

In April 2025, Google accounted for ***** percent of the desktop search market in the United States. This is one of the the engine's lowest shares registered through this device so far. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Bing ranked second, with a share of around ***** percent in the country, and also among the highest quotas registered by the engine in desktops so far.