Google Search Traffic Drops Below 90% for First Time in 10 Years

Internet users are “Google-ing” less than before. Google Search’s global market share has remained below 90 per cent for three consecutive months for the first time in the last 10 years. During the final months of 2024, Google’s search market share dipped to 89.34 per cent in October, 89.99 per cent in November, and 89.73 per cent in December, according to the latest data by Statcounter. The shift in the trend benefitted Google’s biggest rival, Microsoft’s Bing, but its search traffic spiked marginally, leaving the rest of the market open to incumbents such as Yahoo! and Yandex.

According to the report, Google’s search engine market remained consistent in most parts of the world except Asia, which could have caused the overall drop in traffic. The latest trajectory for Google Search reminds us of days in 2015 when everyone’s go-to search engine saw a drop in traffic. Google Seach’s market share in January was 89.62 per cent, 89.47 per cent in February, and 89.52 per cent in March 2015. Although the dip in Google Search’s market share suggests people may be using the four-coloured logo search engine less, it is a marginal drop. Moreover, Google continues to maintain its lead in the market with roughly 89 per cent share.

Contrary to the general assumption that people are flocking to the likes of ChatGPT for their search queries, they are going back to using conventional search engines that work more or less like Google Search. Statcounter said Bing, Yahoo!, and Yandex snapped up higher market share. Bing came second in terms of market share in December, although its share was below 4 per cent.

The continual drop in the global search market share may concern Google slightly, but it may also be good news for the tech giant, which is grappling with several long-running antitrust cases across the globe, concerning its monopoly in the market.