Google has been replaced by Yahoo as the default search engine with the launch of Firefox 34 in the United States and the change has been very beneficial for Yahoo. Compared to Firefox 33, version 34 of Firefox has tripled usage of Yahoo, according to numbers released by internet research company StatCounter.
63.5% of Firefox 34 users still uses Google but the share of Yahoo has increased to 29.4%. In Firefox 33 the amount of users searching with Yahoo was 9.6%. Firefox 34 is still rolled out, so the actual usage numbers will likely change the coming time. Nevertheless, the deal seems to be very beneficial for Yahoo.
The change of the default search engine in Firefox currently only has a negligible effect on the entire American search engine market but if the trend continues, the market share of Yahoo can increase with a couple of percent points. Currently Google has a market share of 78% in the United States, followed by Bing with 12.4% and Yahoo with 7.9%.
