Net Applications most recent usage figures show that Google Chrome may soon surpass Mozilla's Firefox as the second most popular search engine at some point in 2012.

Based on current adoption levels and its growth throughout 2011, Net Applications reported recently that Google Chrome will likely become the second most popular web browser some time in 2012.

Currently, 18.2 percent of web users utilize Chrome, compared to 22.1 percent for Firefox. Since the beginning of 2011, Chrome’s market share has increased 7.03 percent, while Firefox’s has fallen by 1.58 percentage points.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the leader in the market with a 52.6 percent share.

For marketers, Google’s growth as a major player in the market highlights certain elements of their websites, especially those relying on SEO as part of their web marketing campaigns. Page load speed and a focus on high-quality content are vitally important, as Chrome users almost exclusively use Google to search.

While a focus on Google SEO has been common practice in recent years, Google principal engineer Matt Cutts recently stated that marketers should avoid focusing on any best practices, aside from the desire to create a high-quality user experience. Ensuring that pages load quickly without error and lead to valuable content will improve a company’s status on SERPs for all search engines. 

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.