The table and line graph illustrate the total number of Internet searches in the US and the proportions of searches conducted via five major search engines between 2004 and 2010.
Overall, the total number of US searches rose markedly over the period, and Google consistently accounted for the highest proportion of searches.
Additionally, while Google experienced dramatic growth, the remaining search engines – Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, and Ask Jeeves – generally saw downward or minimal upward trends.
In terms of Google, it started at just over 35% in late 2004 and then witnessed a sharp and continuous rise throughout the period. Its share climbed to around 55% by mid-2007, before increasing further to a peak of approximately 65% in 2009. Afterwards, it stabilized at just under 65% by September 2010, remaining the dominant search engine at all measured points.Regarding the total number of US searches, this figure grew significantly from 4.5 billion in November 2004 to 16 billion in September 2010 – an increase of more than threefold.
Turning to Yahoo, it initially held the second-largest share at around 32% in 2004, but this proportion steadily declined over time. By 2010, its share had dropped to roughly 15%, marking a fall of more than half. A similar downward pattern was observed for Microsoft, whose share decreased gradually from about 15% to around 10% by the end of the period. Ask Jeeves also experienced a slow but consistent decline, falling from roughly 10% in 2004 to about 5% in 2010.Finally, AOL remained the least used search engine throughout the timeline, with only small fluctuations around the 5% mark before ending slightly lower in 2010.