Google Snags 72% of November Searches

Google (GOOG) accounted for 71.97% of all US searches in the four weeks ending Nov. 29, 2008, while Yahoo Search (YHOO), MSN Search (MSFT) and Ask.com (IACI) received 17.70%, 5.45% and 3.35%, respectively, according to (pdf file) data from the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis Tool.

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The remaining 43 search engines together accounted for 1.53% of US searches.

November was the fourth straight month that MSN/Live Search increased its search share, Hitwise said.

Searches on Google represented a 14% increase over last year.

Google Searches Drive More Traffic to Key Categories

Not surprisingly, search engines continue to be the primary way internet users navigate to key industry categories. Comparing November 2008 with November 2007, Business and Finance, Sports, Online Video and Social Networking categories showed double-digit increases in their share of traffic coming directly from search engines, while News and Media showed negative growth from search engines: