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The study found that 33% of Google users continued to use Bing after trying it out for two weeks. This challenges the prevailing term on search engine preferences and Google’s market domination.
The study, published by the National Bureau for Economic Research, suggests that Google’s market share is not just because it is better. Many users have not tried alternative.
AND study It was initially published in January, but then he flew under our radar. Hat’s advice Windows Central because he recently reappeared him.
After examining the study, I felt he deserved a closer exam. Here are the findings that stand out.
Google’s Market Power: More than Quality
Stanford researchers, MIT -AI University of Pennsylvania tested 2,354 Internet users on the desktop to understand why Google holds about 90% of global global market.
They looked at several possible reasons for Google’s domination:
- Better quality
- Error Ideas about Competitors
- Default browser settings
- Switching of switching
- Users do not pay attention to
- The benefits of data
Although many think that Google wins exclusively on quality, research shows that it is not that simple.
Researchers dispute these claims with their findings:
“Google, however, claims that its success is fueled by high quality, that the competition” just click is far away “given the ease of switching and that the increase in data refund is small in the relevant range.”
Effect “Trying before Buying”
One key finding points out: after being paid for Bing for two weeks, one third of Google user continued to use Bing even after the payments have stopped.
Researchers discovered:
“64 percent of the participants who constantly used Bing said it was better than they expected, and 59 percent said they got used to it.”
The study further explains:
“Bing exposure has increased the self-enforced perception of its quality by 0.6 standard deviations.
This represents “a third of the initial gap between Google and Bing and more than half of the standard deviation.”
This suggests that people avoid Bing not because he is worse, but because they did not give him a fair shooting.
Challenges of common beliefs
When Google Users were asked to choose their search engine (simplifying the switching), the Bing -ATE increased by only 1.1 percent point.
This suggests that the default settings affect the market share mainly by preventing users to try alternatives.
Authors state:
“Our results suggest that their perception of bing have improved after exposure. Participants with default changes that they continue to use Bing do for two reasons. First, like the Switch Bonus Group participants, their evaluation of Bing due to increase in experience. Other participants can prefer Google, but not switching due to permanent -not -ne -neomed.”
An analysis of Bing’s search data showed that even if Microsoft had access to Google’s search data, it would not dramatically improve the results.
Researchers concluded:
“We estimate that if Bing had access to Google’s data, the click rates will increase from 23.5 percent to 24.8 percent.”
The EU requires Google to display users with a search for a search engine, but this study suggests that such measures will not be effective if users try alternatives.
Researchers add:
“Guided by the limited effects of our active choice intervention, our model predicts that the choice screens would increase Bing’s market share by only 1.3 percentage points.”
How did they do the research
Unlike the studies that ask people’s questions, this one used the expansion of browser to monitor the actual search behavior over time.
Researchers divided users into groups:
- A control group that has changed nothing
- A group of “active choice” that chose its preferred search engine
- A group “default change” that paid for two days to switch to bing
- Group “Switch bonus” paid to use Bing for two weeks
They also measured that users’ opinions changed after trying out different search engines. Many users rated Bing more after use.
What does that mean
These findings suggest that Google’s advantage comes from exposure, not just technically superior.
Current legal cases against Google may not have a significant impact if they do not encourage more people to try alternatives.
Researchers conclude:
“Our results suggest that regulators and antitrust authorities can increase market efficiency, taking into account the search engine as goods and designing medicines that encourage learning.”
This research comes while Google faces legal challenges and US -Uiu EU, and the courts are considering how to increase competition in the search market.
For search sellers, the study suggests that Google’s position may not be as safe as many think, though competitors continue to face the challenge of convincing users to try them.
Sepaled picture: Gguy/Shutterstock
