The numbers don’t get thrown around very much and I hear more jokes about Bing then I hear suggestions to take it seriously but the fact remains, 24% of users used Alternatives to Google in December 2009. Of course you want your website optimized for Google but you don’t want to forget to find your way over to Bing and the other also-rands to see what they are doing and what they have to say.
Nielson released a new report today that I have added below on search usage from Dec of 2009. Clearly and to no ones suprise Google had maintained its dominant role within the US.
There is a huge group of people using alternative search and this creates a huge question. Are there things I can do to make my business stand out more on Bing and its ilk that are different then what I already do optimize for Google? The easiest answer is to spend some time poking around in those communities and read the posts in search forums, things your SEO Consultant should already be doing (they are doing that right?)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Can't say I agree with you if we are talking about the beginning to moderate SEO user. Optimize for Google and you will hit most of the lost 24% anyway. Focus on the lost 24% and you would be wasting a lot of time to capture a very small percent of the market. At least for the photographer sites I have worked via http://photographers-seo.com has Google bringing in well above 67% of the total traffic. Like your headline though… got me to read the post.
Zach thanks for the comment, maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been. Absolutely you need to focus on optimizing for Google, my point is to not forget that there are other avenues out there that make up a good chunk of users.