March 16, 2016

Comscore Releases February 2016 U.S. Desktop Search Engine Rankings

RESTON, VA, March 16, 2016 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) today released its monthly Comscore qSearch™ analysis of the U.S. desktop search marketplace. Google Sites led the explicit core search market in February with 64 percent of search queries conducted.

U.S. Explicit Core Search
Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in February with 64 percent market share (up 0.2 percentage points), followed by Microsoft Sites with 21.4 percent (up 0.1 percentage points) and Yahoo Sites with 12.2 percent. Ask Network accounted for 1.6 percent of explicit core searches, followed by AOL, Inc. with 0.9 percent.

Comscore Explicit Core Search Share Report* (Desktop Only)
February 2016 vs. January 2016
Total U.S. – Desktop Home & Work Locations
Source: Comscore qSearch

Core Search Entity

Explicit Core Search Share (%)

Jan-16

Feb-16

Point Change

Total Explicit Core Search

100.0%

100.0%

N/A

Google Sites

63.8%

64.0%

0.2

Microsoft Sites

21.3%

21.4%

0.1

Yahoo Sites

12.4%

12.2%

-0.2

Ask Network

1.7%

1.6%

-0.1

AOL, Inc.

0.9%

0.9%

0.0

*“Explicit Core Search” excludes contextually driven searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.

16.8 billion explicit core searches were conducted in February, with Google Sites ranking first with 10.8 billion. Microsoft Sites ranked second with 3.6 billion searches, followed by Yahoo Sites with 2 billion, Ask Network with 273 million and AOL, Inc. with 145 million.

Comscore Explicit Core Search Query Report (Desktop Only)
February 2016 vs. January 2016
Total U.S. – Desktop Home & Work Locations
Source: Comscore qSearch

Core Search Entity

Explicit Core Search Queries (MM)

Jan-16

Feb-16

Percent Change

Total Explicit Core Search

17,482

16,823

-4%

Google Sites

11,156

10,762

-4%

Microsoft Sites

3,717

3,594

-3%

Yahoo Sites

2,165

2,048

-5%

Ask Network

289

273

-5%

AOL, Inc.

154

145

-6%

“Powered By” Reporting
In February, 64.0 percent of searches carried organic search results from Google (up 0.2 percentage points), while 31.9 percent of searches were powered by Bing.

For more information: Request a Demo of qSearch

About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a leading cross-platform measurement company that precisely measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior everywhere. Comscore completed its merger with Rentrak Corporation in January 2016 to create the new model for a dynamic, cross-platform world. Built on precision and innovation, our unmatched data footprint combines proprietary digital, TV and movie intelligence with vast demographic details to quantify consumers’ multiscreen behavior at massive scale. This approach helps media companies monetize their complete audiences and allows marketers to reach these audiences more effectively. With more than 3,200 clients and global footprint in more than 75 countries, Comscore is delivering the future of measurement. For more information on Comscore, please visit www.comscore.com.