The latest rankings from comScore indicate that the search giant held a strong lead in the search market in November.

Recently, search giant Google has come under scrutiny and stepped up to defend its search results. Controversy aside, the latest rankings from comScore indicate that the search giant held a strong lead in the search market in November.

ComScore reveals that Google dominated both explicit core and total core searches in November. It lost 0.1 percent of explicit core market share, while Microsoft gained 0.3 percent. Microsoft accounted for just 11.8 percent of the market and Yahoo contributed another 16.4 percent to Bing, but Google fielded more than two-thirds of explicit queries (66.2 percent).

Google also maintained its 64.3 percent hold on the total core market. Meanwhile, Microsoft sites lost 0.8 percent of market share in this category, though this loss was exactly matched by Yahoo's gain, which ultimately suggests Bing's share did not change.

Notably, the overall search market saw declines last month, with total core searches dropping 4 percent. In light of consumers' frenzied online shopping this month, marketers might expect to see the market rise in December.

It will also be interesting to see if market share is impacted by recent search engine developments – from Google criticism broadcast in the New York Times to new search tools offered by Bing. For the time being, though, marketers might want to invest most heavily in Google-oriented campaigns.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.