Google is without a doubt the most popular and most widely used search engine in the world but this doesn’t mean that the company can rest on its laurels. Far from it. It has to respond to moves by its competitors. Yahoo recently scored a win when it convinced Mozilla to use its search engine as the default in Firefox, replacing Google in the process. Now Google is going after users on Firefox, urging them to give up Yahoo, and come back to where it thinks they belong.
SearchEngineLand noticed that going to Google.com on Firefox brings up a message up top which recommends that users make Google their default search engine. Its a one-click exercise, users can either opt for it, or click on No Thanks to make the message go away. The report notes that this message did not appear when accessing Google via Internet Explorer on a PC.
If this is not a clear enough indication yesterday Google encouraged Firefox users to switch back and even outlined the process in a tweet. These messages are evidently driven towards Firefox users and are an attempt to drive users away from Yahoo.
Recent reports indicate that this deal between Yahoo and Mozilla has chipped away some market share from Google. A report from StatCounter reveals that Yahoo increased by two search market share points in the U.S. after the deal was made in November. We’ll have to look at the reports a couple of months from now to ascertain whether Google’s latest move worked or not.