Google’s rules still control National SEO, and Responsive Website Design and Mobile Sites are becoming more critical for online marketers according to the numbers in a recent study.

In a study conducted by Comscore in February of 2014, Google controlled 67.5 percent of search volume in the United States. Bing held 18.4 percent and Yahoo held 10.3 percent. These numbers were essentially the same as the numbers in January of 2014.

In February 2013, Google had the same 67.5 percent of queries while Bing had 16.7 percent, and Yahoo had 11.6 percent. In February of 2012, Google controlled 66.4 percent of queries, Bing 15.3 percent and Yahoo 13.8 percent.

Total search volume has steadily increased since 2011. Total US search queries for February 2011 were 15.4 billion. That grew to 17.6 billion in 2012 and 18.2 billion in February 2013. This past month total search query volume was 17.7 billion.
Mobile search volume is not included in these numbers. Mobile search percentage is as follows: Google: 87.1 percent, Yahoo: 7.3 percent, Bing: 5.2 percent.

Bottom Line: It is projected that global mobile search queries will surpass PC-based search volumes at some point in 2014. This shift has marketers scrambling to install mobile sites and responsive website designs to provide a better user experience for mobile site visitors. If you rely heavily on web traffic to fuel sales for your business, please take the time to audit and review your mobile presence.

Eric Van Cleave is a Partner in Zenergy Works, a Santa Rosa, California based SEO, Website Development, Responsive Website Design, and Mobile Site Design Firm.