Google Marches On!

October 19, 2006-Wow! First Google reports another blowout quarter. Earlier that day, Nielsen publishes search results for September 2006, and Google put the hammer to the competition there also. They garnered 50% search share, which represents 24% growth year over year (annualized). Talk about impressive figure-Google-train obviously not slower!

How does this effect the major search game? Does this sound the warning siren to Microsoft that they should perhaps reconsider buying Yahoo? It makes sense in light of the fact that Microsoft's search results continue to decline (-12% yoy to 9.23% share), and Yahoo is not keeping Google in one eyeshot either although they still retain a decent share of search market (23.4%, up 12% yoy). The two of them together would give Google a little competition, and we, the consumers would benefit from more services and advances in software with online opportunities, as companies battle it out on the market. If not, Google is going to run off and hide.

Maybe Yahoo (with a lot of cash to spare) will buy some of the smaller niche companies to make itself even more attractive to Microsoft, but we do not believe Microsoft would sit on our hands, while Yahoo postulates what action to take . It is Microsoft's move to make, and the time to act now, not a year from now, when their collective search share is even lower. Google is a huge threat to Microsoft and they are not going to take a break just because they have hung up yet another blow out quarter financially and in the search. Yahoo has shown that they can not keep pace on their own, so they need some help if they had any intention of ever catching Google. Google smells the blood and signals the time to push harder, do not back away. YouTube is probably just the beginning of an exciting acquisition Spree for the gang in Mountain View.

Microsoft would be wise to pull up Yahoo right now after Yahoo posted a rather blah quarter earlier this week that their market will shrink a little when Mr. Softy to buy Yahoo with a "discount". They did not like the idea of buying Yahoo $ 29/share a few months ago, but they should probably like it at $ 25.

Yahoo is not "dead." It's not like they are stinking up common (they are still growing, though much slower) and they know how to find games that Microsoft has not quite yet figured out. It seems to make a logical marriage at this stage of the game.

Bottom line: It's shaping up pretty well as a good ole fashion duel that may take some time to determine the final winner, but we will be anxiously monitoring of the three "big dogs" as they consider their next move in this high stakes chess match search engine. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.