gkd_uk
Well-Known Member
Google now accounts for over half of the world's online searches - three quarters in the UK - making the fight for a shred of its market-share a full-time job for rivals.
Microsoft, Yahoo and Ask have been busy offering new interfaces and features in an effort to compete.
But broadly the search engines offer similar services - different ways to refine searches, link to shopping and local services and access blogs and other sources, alongside traditional web pages.
According to Jupiter analyst Nate Elliot the underlying algorithms that powers search are also very similar among the main players.
"Strip out the brands and just show the results and there is not often a lot of difference. The biggest difference between them is the logo at the top of the page," he said.
And it is here that Google has a huge advantage: a trusted brand in many people's minds, there is little reason to desert it for one of the other search engines.
The BBC News website takes a look at some of the features offered by the main players and where they go next.
Read more
Microsoft, Yahoo and Ask have been busy offering new interfaces and features in an effort to compete.
But broadly the search engines offer similar services - different ways to refine searches, link to shopping and local services and access blogs and other sources, alongside traditional web pages.
According to Jupiter analyst Nate Elliot the underlying algorithms that powers search are also very similar among the main players.
"Strip out the brands and just show the results and there is not often a lot of difference. The biggest difference between them is the logo at the top of the page," he said.
And it is here that Google has a huge advantage: a trusted brand in many people's minds, there is little reason to desert it for one of the other search engines.
The BBC News website takes a look at some of the features offered by the main players and where they go next.
Read more
