Google Search dips to lowest level in five years

Google's grip on the search market could be weakening - the Californian giant's share of the UK market dipped beneath 90% for the first time in five years.

The research, from web monitoring firm Experian Hitwise, showed that 89.33% of all searches were conducted via Google sites in October.

'This is the first time in the last five years that Google has ever dropped below a 90% market share of UK search,' said Experian Hitwise in a statement.

'As search continues to diversify however, the market is likely to continue to shift and change.'

Google's market share fell 1.41% in one month from September to October 2012.

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'Clearly, Google still maintains a huge competitive edge over the other search engines in the UK market,' says Experian Hitwise. 'There are 18 times more searches conducted on Google Sites than on all the other search engines combined.'

Microsoft search sites gained most, rising 0.72% in the same month.

'October saw the launch of Windows 8 with Bing set as the default search engine which may have gone some way to increasing Microsoft’s market share,' says Experian.

Yahoo! sites also gained 0.5% in the same month, rising from 2.83% to 3.33%.

The shift occurs as Britons search more than ever before.

In an analysis this year, Experian said, 'On average, the UK is making an additional 93 million visits per month to search engines compared to the same month in the previous year. This equates to an average year-on-year growth of 4.3% in visits.'