Google's U.S. Search Share Slackens, Nielsen Says

John Letzing, Friday, Jan. 18 2008, SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc. saw its lead in the Internet search market slacken in December, according to data released Friday by Nielsen Online. Google garnered a 56.3% share of the U.S. search market in December, compared to a 57.7% share in the previous month, according to Nielsen. Yahoo Inc. , meanwhile, saw its share in December fall slightly to 17.7%, compared to 17.9% in November. Microsoft Corp. was the only company among the three largest search providers to see an increase in December, as its share rose to 13.8% of the U.S. market from 12% the previous month, according to Nielsen.