A report from Marin Software found that PPC campaigns generated twice as much activity from smartphone and tablet users in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the previous three-month time period. Search ads that reached iPad users generated 38 percent higher click-through rates than ads targeting desktop users, the report found. This should be a sign to paid and organic search ... [more]

Market research firm comScore recently reported that Google's share of the search market grew 0.5 percent in December, with the company fielding 65.9 percent of search queries. In November, comScore found that Google accounted for 65.4 of searches. In November, 15.1 percent of searches were through Yahoo, but the figure fell to 14.5 percent in December. Bing made modest gains in ... [more]

Yahoo named PayPal President Scott Thompson its new CEO on Wednesday. Thompson will take over for interim CEO Tim Morse, joining the former search company at what could prove a critical moment in its history as it struggles to drive revenue in web advertising and falls even further down the rankings in search market share. Yahoo has struggled to compete with Google and other competitors ... [more]

In its report of November search traffic, market research firm comScore found that Bing and Yahoo have drawn basically even results, with Yahoo accounting for 15.1 percent of search queries and Bing claiming an even 15 percent. Meanwhile, Google, despite dropping 0.2 percent, still dominates search with 65.4 percent of queries in November. Bing, Microsoft's search engine, and Yahoo ... [more]

Yahoo announced on Monday a pair of new features to its Image Search that will allow users to search for images easier than they had previously. Additionally, the new social sharing buttons will allow people to share photos on Facebook and Twitter directly from the Image Search page. Making it as easy as possible for people to share content socially will make websites more attractive ... [more]

Yahoo announced on Friday that it would finally shut down its Site Explorer in favor of Bing Webmaster Tools as part of the final integration steps. On its company blog, Yahoo said the move would be finalized on Monday, and that users would be redirected to Bing. The initial move between the two organizations came last September and has evolved gradually since then. Any search ... [more]

A report from Experian Hitwise found that Bing-powered search made modest gains in October, improving its market share by 2 percent. Despite the improvements, SEO marketers should note that Google still holds a commanding lead with 65.3 percent of all search queries. Bing-powered search refers to both Bing and Yahoo, as both sites rely on Microsoft's engine to produce their results. ... [more]

A report from the Sunday Wall Street Journal said that Google contacted at least two firms that have expressed interest in buying Yahoo since the dismissal of CEO Carl Bartz last month. While neither Google nor the firms in question would comment on the rumors, a potential Google acquisition would have massive effects on search and other Yahoo products, such as email. This would ... [more]

Experian HitWise released its numbers for search market share earlier this week and found Google now accounts for more than 66 percent of search queries. The figure represents 2 percent growth from the company's previous report detailing September's search share, and marketers should plan SEO campaigns according to Google's quality standards. While Google's gains are notable, the ... [more]

Market research firm comScore released its list of the most valuable web properties for August, and search companies Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, respectively, topped the list. This might remind marketers that search channels are still vital to reaching online audiences even as the industry conversation becomes increasingly socially oriented.The value of search properties has grown ... [more]