The latest search figures from Hitwise indicate that Microsoft may be coming into its own as a search provider. It now accounts for one-quarter of all searches, by the firm's measure. […]

The latest search figures from Hitwise indicate that Microsoft may be coming into its own as a search provider. It now accounts for one-quarter of all searches, by the firm's measure.

Hitwise reports that Bing-powered searches represented 25.27 percent of the search market in November 2010. This demonstrates a 2 percent month-over-month increase. Yahoo sites and Bing sites (both fueled by Microsoft's search portal) saw 3 percent and 1 percent gains, respectively.

Yahoo and Bing also saw the highest success rates in November, indicating that searches on these sites led to website visits. This may inspire marketers to consider campaigns for Bing in order to optimize clicks – especially since some worry that Google's Instant Previews may deter consumers from visiting pages.

Meanwhile, Hitwise says search giant Google has a strong lead, fielding 70.10 percent of queries. However, the firm reports Google lost 1 percent of market share last month. This report conflicts with comScore's data, which indicates Google maintained its hold on the total core search market last month.

Still, both reports reveal that Bing is growing in influence, and marketers should consider the power of Bing in bringing traffic to their sites. As Brafton has reported, studies shows that brands pay the price for failing to create search engine optimization strategies for Bing and Yahoo.  

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.