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, online search engine Bing accounted for almost six percent of the global tablet search market, while market leader Google had a share of over 89 percent. Meanwhile, Yandex's tablet search market share was of 2.73 percent, while Yahoo! represented little less than one percent on these devices.

Between January 1st and December 31st, 2024, "Wetter" (Weather) was the most popular search query on the Google search engine in Germany. "Google" was ranked second, reaching an index point value of only 50 relative to the top search query ("Wetter").

In January 2025, the South Korean search engine Naver had a global market share of 0.33 percent. This is not a lot compared to the dominant market leader Google. However, Naver has the largest share of the search engine market in its home market South Korea.

Much like the alternatives to mainstream social media platforms, China has pioneered the production of search engines that provide an alternative to Google and Bing. Some of the most prominent Chinese search engines are ***** and ****, with a combined market share of ***** percent. Baidu – China’s internet giant Since its founding in 2000, Baidu’s revenue surged swiftly and totaled about ****** billion yuan in 2024. A majority of the revenue was generated through online marketing services. However, the operating profit bounced back after having contracted in 2019 and 2021. Baidu used to control about ** to ** percent of China’s online search market, a new contender Haosou emerged and is expected to close the gap shortly. Other search engines in China In a country with around *** million online search users, there are multiple local options besides Baidu. In a 2023 consumer survey in China, Shenma and Quark Search were rated the best in user experience whereas Haosou or 360 Search led the pack in search response speed and the diversity in search results.

In April 2025, Google accounted for over ** percent of the mobile search market in the United States. With approximately ** percent reach among mobile audiences, Google Search is also one of the most popular mobile apps in the United States. DuckDuckGo and Yahoo! followed as the leading mobile search providers in the United States during the last examined month, with shares of around *** percent each.

As per Cognitive Market Research's latest published report, the Global SEO Software market size was $47.8 Billion in 2021 and it is forecasted to reach $89.2 Billion by 2029. SEO Software Industry's Compound Annual Growth Rate will be 8.4% from 2023 to 2030. Factors Impacting on SEO Software Market

Growing internet penetration, robust usage of smartphones, and rising internet connectivity are some of the key factors which are boosting the growth of the SEO Software market. For instance, according to World Advertising Research Center (WARC) report, around 2 billion people presently access the internet through only their smartphone, which equates to 51 % of the global base of 3.9 mobile users. WARC also estimated that, by 2025, around 3.7 billion individuals, or nearly 72.6 % of internet users, will only access the web through their smartphones. Thus, this is anticipated to increase the demand for SEO software worldwide. The growing urbanization and increasing adoption of digitalization are fuelling market growth. In addition to this, the increasing use of digital assistants and voice search changing the way the modern population interacts with an online search, and advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are supporting the growth of the SEO Software Market. According to Microsoft’s 2019 Voice report, 72% of people used voice search through a personal digital assistant and 35% of people have used voice search through a smart home speaker. What is SEO Software?

Search engine optimization (SEO) software is an online platform that monitors, organizes, and analyses data relating to a website’s performance in search engines. This software helps to improve the ranking of websites in search engine results pages (SERPs) and it gives a snapshot of how the website is performing in search engines for top-priority key phrases.

"Clima" weather was the most probed query in the Google search engine in Brazil in 2024, indexing at 100 in terms of search volume. Compared to the top ranking search result, the weather forecast-related terms "Tempo" and "Previsão do tempo" were also some of the most searched terms on the engine, scoring index values of 77 and 28. Additionally, the messenger solution "WhatsApp" and "WhatsApp Web" scored relative index values of 78 and 59 each.

Global search advertising revenue was forecast to reach 357 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. Retail media was projected to account for roughly 140 billion dollars and traditional search for 217 billion.

In November 2021, Google had the highest market share of all search engines in Australia, accounting for almost ** percent of web traffic referred by search engines. Bing followed as the second most popular search engine with a **** percent market share that month.

Number of searches for long-COVID using the Yahoo! JAPAN search engine, by gender and age in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.

In April 2024, Google was the most popular search engine in the UK, holding a market share of ***** percent across all devices. Bing had a relatively large market share of approximately **** percent in second place, followed by Yahoo! with approximately **** percent.

README These datasets and R script are to generate the visualizations used in "Search Engine Manipulation: SEO to Spread Kremlin-Aligned Disinformation"

DATA

Data were collected from the Ahrefs (ahrefs.com) dashboard on Feb 21, 2022. Any re-use of this data must cite Ahrefs as the source. We provide two data files:
1) ora_backlinks.csv (referring domain network extracted from Ahrefs) 2) ora_keyphrases.csv (keyword network extracted from Ahrefs) ora_rd.csv contains:

'source' : (think tank domain)
'target' : (backlinking domain)
'weight' : (total # of backlinks)
'network' : (ru_tt_rd = Russia, us_tt_rd = US, ds_rd = Pseudo)

ora_keyphrases.csv contains:

source: think tank domain target: top key phrases position: Google's ranking for that domain for that term volume: ahrefs estimated organic daily traffic group: Think tank group

R Script This script generates visuals of top backlinkers and backlink recipients in the think tank network. It also constructs and visualizes the minimum overlap network for referring domains present in the paper. This code was created using R version 4.1.1 (2021-08-10) -- "Kick Things". To run this code, you'll first need to install the libraries at the beginning of the script. Once that is done, open the script and modify the path to the input file (ora_rd.csv): rd_data_el and modify the path to the output file: output_dir. The script can then be run line-by-line in Rstudio or by typing Rscript SEM_visuals.R in the terminal after setting paths.

Citation How to cite (will be updated upon acceptance):

 Williams, E. M. & Carley, M. C., (2023). Search Engine Manipulation to Spread Pro-Kremlin Propaganda. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review, Volume #(Issue #). Received: Month Xth, 2022. Accepted: Month Xth, 20XX. Published: Month Xth, 2022.
 ```

Snapshot img

Digital Marketing Spending Market Size 2025-2029

The digital marketing spending market size is forecast to increase by USD 365.1 billion, at a CAGR of 8.5% between 2024 and 2029.

Major Market Trends & Insights

APAC dominated the market and accounted for a 46% growth during the forecast period.
By the Application - Mobile devices segment was valued at USD 299.90 billion in 2023
By the Type - Search ads segment accounted for the largest market revenue share in 2023

Market Size & Forecast

Market Opportunities: USD 112.99 billion
Market Future Opportunities: USD 365.10 billion 
CAGR : 8.5%
APAC: Largest market in 2023

Market Summary

The market is a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape, with businesses increasingly allocating significant resources to digital channels for customer engagement and brand visibility. According to recent studies, digital marketing expenditures are projected to surpass traditional marketing budgets by 2024, representing a substantial shift in marketing investments. This trend is driven by the growing importance of online presence and the increasing effectiveness of digital marketing strategies. For instance, social media advertising has seen a 10% year-on-year growth, while search engine marketing continues to dominate the digital marketing landscape with a 40% market share. Moreover, the emergence of programmatic advertising and the expansion of video marketing have added new dimensions to the market.
Despite these opportunities, challenges persist, with concerns over ad fraud and brand safety continuing to impact digital marketing investments. Nevertheless, the market's continuous evolution and the ongoing adoption of advanced technologies are expected to drive growth and innovation in the digital marketing sector.

What will be the Size of the Digital Marketing Spending Market during the forecast period?

Explore market size, adoption trends, and growth potential for digital marketing spending market Request Free Sample

Digital marketing spending continues to be a significant investment for businesses, with current market performance registering at over 40% of the total advertising budget. This figure underscores the growing importance of digital channels in reaching and engaging consumers. Looking ahead, future growth expectations indicate a steady increase, with a projected expansion of over 15% yearly. A comparison of key numerical data reveals an intriguing trend. In 2020, approximately 64% of companies allocated their marketing budgets to search engine marketing, while social media marketing accounted for 22%.
By contrast, the latest statistics suggest a shift, with search engine marketing holding a 58% share and social media marketing capturing a 28% slice of the pie. This comparison underscores the evolving nature of digital marketing spending, with businesses continually reallocating resources to maximize their return on investment.

How is this Digitaling Spending Industry segmented?

The digitaling spending industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD billion' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Application

  Mobile devices
  Desktops


Type

  Search ads
  Display ads
  Social media
  E-mail marketing
  Others


Industries

  Retail
  E-Commerce
  Healthcare
  Financial Services
  Travel and Hospitality


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    Italy
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    Egypt
    KSA
    Oman
    UAE


  APAC

    China
    India
    Japan


  South America

    Argentina
    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Application Insights

The mobile devices segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, businesses continue to allocate significant resources towards various online advertising formats and strategies. Display advertising formats, such as banners and video ads, accounted for 31.1% of total digital Ad Spending in 2020. Search advertising strategies, like pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, claimed a 41.5% share of the market. Marketing automation tools, real-time bidding strategies, and marketing technology stacks are essential components of digital marketing, with automation tools seeing a 24.4% increase in usage in 2021. Digital marketing return on investment (ROI) is a critical consideration, with businesses aiming for conversion rate optimization and affiliate marketing programs to boost revenue.

Local SEO optimization, email marketing automation, and landing page design are crucial for businesses targeting specific geographic areas or customer segments. Video marketing production, website analytics tracking, and social media advertising are also es

README

These datasets and R script are to generate the visualizations used in "Search Engine Manipulation: SEO to Spread Kremlin-Aligned Disinformation"

DATA

Data were collected from the Ahrefs (ahrefs.com) dashboard on Feb 21, 2022. Any re-use of this data must cite Ahrefs as the source.

We provide two data files:
1) ora_rd.csv (referring domain network extracted from Ahrefs) 2) ora_kw.csv (keyword network extracted from Ahrefs)

ora_rd.csv contains:

'source' : (think tank domain)
'target' : (backlinking domain)
'weight' : (total # of backlinks)
'network' : (ru_tt_rd = Russia, us_tt_rd = US, ds_rd = Pseudo)

ora_kw contains:

keyword: top key phrases
outlet: countains the think tank domain - maps to source in ora_rd

R Script

This script generates visuals of top backlinkers and backlink recipients in the think tank network. It also constructs and visualizes the minimum overlap network for referring domains present in the paper.

This code was created using R version 4.1.1 (2021-08-10) -- "Kick Things".

To run this code, you'll first need to install the libraries at the beginning of the script.

Once that is done, open the script and modify the path to the input file (ora_rd.csv): rd_data_el and modify the path to the output file: output_dir.

The script can then be run line-by-line in Rstudio or by typing Rscript seo_visuals.R in the terminal.

Citation

How to cite (will be updated upon acceptance):

Williams, E. M. & Carley, M. C., (2022). Search Engine Manipulation: SEO to 
 Spread Kremlin-Aligned Disinfor-mation. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)  
 Misinformation Review, Volume #(Issue #).
 Received: Month Xth, 2022. Accepted: Month Xth, 20XX. Published: Month Xth,  2022.

In December 2024, the average monthly cost-per-click (CPC) in Google Ads search advertising for the marketing and advertising industry in the United States reached 7.66 U.S. dollars and was the highest among the presented countries. In France, the value stood at 68 U.S. cents.

This statistic shows the market share of search engines on tablets in the Netherlands as of 2021. In this year, Google was the most popular search engine on tablets in the Netherlands, with the highest market share of ** percent. Other domains, such as DuckDuckGo, Yahoo and bing, also attracted traffic. DuckDuckGo, a search engine which aims to protect searchers' privacy, reached a market share of **** percent.

In May 2025, Google had a search engine market share of approximately ***** percent in Brazil across all devices. Microsoft's Bing ranked second, with a share of **** percent, while other engines like Yahoo! and DuckDuckGo followed with smaller shares.

The market share of the most used search engines in France in May 2021, ranked by type of device is represented in this statistic. Google dominated the market share on all devices by almost ** percent and was the forerunner on mobile devices by around ** percent. The Microsoft product Bing came in second with **** percent market shares in France, with the most desktop usage of more than **** percent. Yahoo! remained above the **** percent share on desktop usage.