Google runs the world’s number one online search engine. Its lead has not been challenged yet by any rival. Though recently Google’s market share dropped below 75 percent for the first time since 2008. That was the result of Mozilla dumping Google as its default search engine in favor of Yahoo. That’s a five year deal so Google has to get creative to bring back Firefox users. Now it is practically urging them to use its search engine as the default option.
A report by SearchEngineLand shows that Google is now displaying a new message above organic search results which urges Firefox users to switch their default search engine from Yahoo to Google. The message not only pushes down the search results but also advertisements which always occupy prime space on the Google search results page.
People who click on “Learn how” are then taken to a page which has step by step directions on how they can switch the default search engine in Firefox to Google. There are pictures and everything.
Google seems to be running this message only on traffic that’s coming in from Firefox because I couldn’t replicate it on Chrome or Safari. Clearly it is the most visible push yet from the search engine giant that it won’t let Firefox users go to Yahoo that easily.
The deal with Mozilla has worked for Yahoo. The company’s search share has grown from 8.6 percent in November 2015 to over 10.6 percent in March 2015.