Changewave Research: Home Online Usage Yahoo Vs. Google

ChangeWave Research: Home Online Usage – Yahoo vs. Google

ChangeWave Research Report:

Home Online Usage: Yahoo vs. Google

Head-to-Head Fight Continues BetweenThe Two Online Heavyweights

Overview

During the week of September 21 - 26, 2005, we conducted a follow-up survey on home online usagetrends – including a close-up look at the ongoing rivalry betweenInternet behemothsYahoo and Google. A total of 2,027Alliance members participated.

Bottom Line: Similar to our May survey results, thecurrent findings show a highly competitive and closely fought strugglebetween Yahoo and Google for overall domination of the onlineworld.

Yahoo Strengths: Yahoois still the number one home page site and the primary site for online news and information. Moreover, 31% of respondents say they are using more Yahoo products/services than a year ago, and far greater numbers have used Yahoo (46%) than Google (5%) to personalize their home pages.

Google Strengths: Googleis of course the leading search engine (77%), and is stillthe preferred toolbar used in home browsers/applications (33%). A robust47% of respondents saythey use more Google products/services than a year ago, although this was down 5-points since our May survey.

Importantly,while Yahoo (33%) remains the overall favorite website, Google (24%) has made gains since our May survey.Also, the percentage of respondents who say they click on ads or sponsored links has risen for both Google (35%) and Yahoo (28%)sinceMay.

(A) General Online Usage Trends

Yahoo Still the Leading Home Page. Yahoo (29%) is still the leading home page site.Google (13%) was tied with MSN (13%) for second place among respondents.

Yahoo is the Primary News and Information Site. Thirty-one percent (31%) say Yahoo is the primary website they use for online news and information. MSN (11%) ranked second, trailed by CNN (10%), Google (6%) and FOXNews (5%).

Google the Search Engine Leader. An overwhelming majority consider Google (77%) their primary Search Engine, unchanged from our May survey. Yahoo (13%) remains a distant second, but is up 3-points since May.

Google Leads in Toolbars. A third (33%) of respondents use the Google Toolbar in their browser/applications, compared with 25% who use the Yahoo Toolbar.

Overall Momentum –Google vs. Yahoo.While a robust47% of respondents saythey use more Google products/services than a year ago, that’s stilldown 5-points since the May survey. At the same time,31% of respondents say they use more Yahoo products/services than a year ago, unchanged from May.

Ad Click-through Rates Up for Yahoo & Google. More than one-in-three respondents (35%) say they click on ads or sponsored links from Google.com – up 12-pts since May. Another 28% say they click on ads/links from Yahoo.com – up 13-pts.

Yahoo Leads in Personalized Web Page. Forty-six percent (46%) have used “My Yahoo” to create a personalized web page, compared with5% who have used Google.

Yahoo Still Overall Favorite Website, But Google Gains. Yahoo.com (33%) beats out Google.com (24%) as the overall favorite website, but Google has increased 7-points in this regard since May compared to a 1-point increase for Yahoo.

Here’s a breakdown of products and services respondents report they are using more of this year than a year ago:

Which of Yahoo’s/Google's Products/Services are you using more of this year than a year ago?

Yahoo / Google
Yahoo Web Search vs. Google Web Search / 20% / 43%
Yahoo email vs. Google email (gmail) / 21% / 12%
Yahoo Shopping vs. Google Shopping (Froogle) / 9% / 8%
Yahoo Maps vs. Google Maps / 18% / 29%
Yahoo News vs. Google News / 19% / 13%
Yahoo "Local" Search vs. Google "Local" Search / 5% / 9%
Yahoo Desktop Search vs. Google Desktop Search / 1% / 7%
Yahoo Video/Image Search vs. Google Video/Image Search / 2% / 8%
Yahoo Finance / 28% / NA

Summary of Key Findings

The ChangeWave Alliance is a group of 6,000 highly qualified business, technology, and medical professionals in leading companies of select industries—credentialed professionals who spend their everyday lives working on the frontline of technological change. ChangeWave surveys its Alliance members on a range of business and investment research and intelligence topics, collects feedback from them electronically, and converts the information into proprietary quantitative and qualitative reports.

Helping You Profit From A Rapidly Changing World ™

Table of Contents

Summary of Key Findings...... 2

The Findings...... 4

(A)General Online Usage Trends...... 4

(B)Google vs. Yahoo ...... 6

ChangeWave Research Methodology...... 11

About ChangeWave Research...... 12

I. The Findings

Introduction

During the week of September 21 - 26, 2005, we conducted a follow-up survey on home online usagetrends – including a close-up look at the ongoing rivalry between Internet behemothsYahoo and Google.

Total Respondents (n=2,027)

(A) General Online Usage Trends

(1A) Question Asked: What type of Internet service do you have in your home?

Current
Survey
Sep ‘05 / Previous
Survey
May ‘05
High-Speed Cable / 47% / 50%
High-Speed DSL / 34% / 31%
Dial-up / 13% / 14%
Wireless Broadband / 3% / 2%
High-Speed Satellite / 1% / 1%
Fiber (e.g. FIOS) / 1% / NA
T-1/T-3 / 0% / 0%
Other / 1% / 1%
No Answer / 0% / 0%

Increase in Home High-Speed DSL Usage. A total of 34% of respondents reportthey have High-Speed DSL Internet service at home, up 3-points from our May 2005 survey. Usage of High-Speed Cable (47%), while leading, is down 3-points since May.

(2A) Question Asked: What website do you use as your home page at home?

Current
Survey
Sep ‘05 / Previous
Survey
May ‘05
Yahoo / 29% / 29%
Google / 13% / 11%
MSN / 13% / 13%
AOL / 5% / 6%
My Company's Home Page / 3% / 2%
CNN / 2% / 1%
MarketWatch / 1% / 1%
Amazon / 0% / 0%
Drudge Report / 0% / 0%
eBay / 0% / 0%
Investor's Business Daily / 0% / 1%
My Internet Service Provider's Home Page / 14% / 13%
Other / 17% / 19%
No Answer / 2% / 3%

Yahoo Still the Leading Home Page. Yahoo (29%) is still the leading home page site. Google (13%) was tied with MSN (13%) for second place among respondents.

(2B) Question Asked: Which of the following do you use as your primary website for online news and information?

Current
Survey
Sep ‘05 / Previous
Survey
May ‘05
Yahoo / 31% / 32%
MSN / 11% / 10%
CNN / 10% / 8%
Google / 6% / 5%
FOXNews / 5% / 4%
AOL / 4% / 5%
MSNBC / 4% / 4%
Local Newspaper Website / 4% / 4%
MarketWatch / 3% / 4%
Drudge Report / 3% / 3%
Wall Street Journal / 3% / 2%
CNET / 1% / 0%
Investors Business Daily / 1% / 1%
Reuters / 1% / 1%
Other / 11% / 14%
No Answer / 3% / 2%

Yahoo is the Primary News and Information Site. Thirty-one percent (31%) say Yahoo is the primary website they use for online news and information. MSN (11%) ranked second, trailed by CNN (10%), Google (6%) and FOXNews (5%).

(2C) Question Asked: Which of the following do you use as your primary website for travel?

Current Survey Sep ‘05 / Previous Survey
May ‘05
Expedia.com / 22% / 20%
Travelocity.com / 17% / 16%
Individual Airline / 16% / 18%
Orbitz.com / 12% / 11%
Priceline.com / 3% / 3%
Personal/Corporate Travel Agent / 3% / 3%
Cheaptickets.com / 2% / 3%
Hotels.com / 2% / 2%
Travelzoo.com / 2% / 2%
Individual Hotel Chain / 2% / 1%
Do not use Travel Websites / 11% / 10%
Other / 7% / 7%
No Answer / 2% / 1%

Expedia is Top Travel Website. Expedia (22%) is the top site respondents say they use for travel, up 2-points. Travelocity (17%) is second, followed by “Individual Airline,” (16%), which is down 2-points from previously.

(2D) Question Asked: Which of the following do you use as your primary Online Brokerage Service?

Ameritrade / 15%
Charles Schwab / 12%
Fidelity.com / 12%
ScotTrade / 11%
E*Trade / 10%
TD Waterhouse / 9%
Harrisdirect / 2%
Other / 22%
No Answer / 8%

Top Online Brokerages. Ameritrade (15%), Charles Schwab (12%) and Fidelity.com (12%) rank as the top sites for Online Brokerage Services.

(B) Yahoo vs. Google

(1) Question Asked: Which of the following toolbars – if any – do you currently use in your browser/applications?(Check All That Apply)

Current Survey Sep ‘05 / Previous Survey
May ‘05
Google Toolbar / 33% / 33%
Yahoo Toolbar / 25% / 25%
Do Not Use Any of These Toolbars / 50% / 50%

Google Leads in Toolbars. A third (33%) of respondents use the Google Toolbar in their browser/applications, compared with 25% who use the Yahoo Toolbar.

(2A) Question Asked: What is the primary search engine you normally prefer to use?

Current Survey Sep ‘05 / Previous Survey
May ‘05
Google / 77% / 78%
Yahoo / 13% / 14%
MSN Search.com (CNET) / 3% / 3%
AOL / 2% / 2%
Ask Jeeves / 1% / 0%
Dogpile / 1% / NA
A9 / 0% / 0%
Looksmart / 0% / 0%
Mamma.com / 0% / 0%
Other / 2% / 2%
No Answer / 1% / 1%

(2B) Question Asked: Which of the following search engines have you used in the past 90 days? (Check All That Apply)

Current Survey Sep ‘05 / Previous Survey May ‘05
Google / 93% / 92%
Yahoo / 59% / 56%
MSN / 24% / 26%
Ask Jeeves / 13% / 16%
AOL / 7% / 7%
Other / 9% / 8%

Google the Search Engine Leader. An overwhelming majority consider Google (77%) their primary Search Engine, unchanged from our May survey. Yahoo (13%) remains a far distant second, but is up 3-points since May.

(3A) Question Asked: Yahoo.com has an optional feature called “My Yahoo” which allows you to personalize a webpage. Google recently launched a new feature allowing users to personalize a webpage. Have you ever created a personalized “My Yahoo”/Google webpage?

Yahoo / Google
Yes, and I currently use it / 30% / 4%
Yes, but I no longer use it / 16% / 1%
No / 53% / 94%

(3B) Question Asked: How likely is that you will use this feature in the future through “My Yahoo”/Google?

Yahoo / Google
Very Likely / 27% / 5%
Somewhat Likely / 13% / 19%
Somewhat Unlikely / 12% / 17%
Very Unlikely / 37% / 38%
Don't Know / 10% / 20%

Yahoo Leads in Personalized Web Page. Forty-six percent (46%) have used “My Yahoo” to create a personalized web page, compared with 5% who have used Google.

(4A) Question Asked: Compared to a year ago, would you say you use more Yahoo/Google products/services, less Yahoo/Google products/services, or has there been no change from a year ago?

Current Survey (September 2005)

Yahoo / Google
Use MoreYahoo/Google Products/Services Than a Year Ago / 31% / 47%
Use LessYahoo/Google Products/Services Than a Year Ago / 12% / 3%
Did Not Use Yahoo/Google Products/Services Either This Year or a Year Ago / 12% / 8%
No Change / 42% / 40%

Previous Survey (May 2005)

Yahoo / Google
Use More Yahoo/Google Products/Services Than a Year Ago / 31% / 52%
Use LessYahoo/Google Products/Services Than a Year Ago / 8% / 1%
Did Not Use Yahoo/Google Products/Services Either This Year or a Year Ago / 17% / 7%
No Change / 43% / 39%

Overall Momentum –Google vs. Yahoo.While a robust47% of respondents say they use more Google products/ services than a year ago, that’s still down 5-points since the May survey. At the same time,31% of respondents say they use more Yahoo products/ services than a year ago, unchanged from May.

(4B) Question Asked: (For Members Who Use More Yahoo/Google Products/Services Than a Year Ago) Which of Yahoo’s and Google's Products/Services are you using more of this year than a year ago? (Check All That Apply)

Current Survey (September 2005)

Previous Survey (May 2005)

Yahoo / Google
Yahoo Web Search vs. Google Web Search / 15% / 49%
Yahoo email vs. Google email (gmail) / 21% / 12%
Yahoo Shopping vs. Google Shopping (Froogle) / 8% / 13%
Yahoo Maps vs. Google Maps / 17% / 23%
Yahoo News vs. Google News / 16% / 13%
Yahoo "Local" Search vs. Google "Local" Search / 5% / 7%
Yahoo Desktop Search vs. Google Desktop Search / 2% / 7%
Yahoo Video/Image Search vs. Google Video/Image Search / 2% / 7%
Yahoo Finance / 28% / NA

Yahoo Paid Services

(5A) Question Asked: From the following list of Yahoo paid services, which ones – if any – do you currently use? (Check All That Apply)

(5B) Question Asked: And which ones do plan on using over the next 90 days?(Check All That Apply)

Paid Services Currently Use / Paid Services Plan on Using Next 90 Days
Email Account Upgrade (Allowing More Storage & Larger File Attachments) / 7% / 5%
Yahoo DSL / 4% / 4%
Yahoo Fantasy Football Add-Ons (including StarTracker & Wireless Access) / 1% / 1%
Selling Items on Yahoo Auctions / 1% / 1%
Listing on Yahoo Classifieds / 0% / 1%
Selling Items in Yahoo Store / 0% / 1%
Buying Prints from Yahoo Photos / 0% / 1%
Downloading Cell Phone Games from Yahoo Mobile / 0% / 0%
Downloading Cell Phone Ringtones from Yahoo Mobile / 0% / 0%
Don't Know / 16% / 30%
Other / 10% / 7%

Yahoo Paid Services. Email Account Upgrade (7%) and Yahoo DSL (4%) are the top Yahoo paid services currently used by respondents. Looking at the next 90 days, 5% say they plan on adding an Email Account Upgrade and 4% say Yahoo DSL.

Ad Clicks

(6A) Question Asked: For each of the following websites, please rate how frequently you click on advertisements or sponsored links:

Current Survey (September 2005)

Very Often / Somewhat Often / Rarely / Never
Yahoo.com / 14% / 14% / 44% / 29%
Google.com / 16% / 19% / 39% / 26%

Previous Survey (May 2005)

Very Often / Somewhat Often / Rarely / Never
Yahoo.com / 3% / 12% / 49% / 36%
Google.com / 6% / 17% / 44% / 32%

Ad Clickthrough Rates Up for Yahoo & Google. More than one-in-three respondents (35%) say they click on ads or sponsored links from Google.com – up 12-pts since May. Another 28% say they click on ads/links from Yahoo.com – up 13-pts.

(6B) Question Asked: Overall, how satisfied are you with each of the following websites?

Current Survey (September 2005)

Satisfied / Unsatisfied / Very Satisfied / Somewhat Satisfied / Somewhat Unsatisfied / Very Unsatisfied
Yahoo.com / 93% / 7% / 48% / 45% / 6% / 1%
Google.com / 95% / 5% / 62% / 33% / 3% / 2%

Previous Survey (May 2005)

Satisfied / Unsatisfied / Very Satisfied / Somewhat Satisfied / Somewhat Unsatisfied / Very Unsatisfied
Yahoo.com / 93% / 7% / 48% / 45% / 6% / 1%
Google.com / 97% / 3% / 62% / 35% / 2% / 1%

Satisfaction Ratings. Satisfaction ratings remain high for both Google.com (95% Satisfied) and Yahoo.com (93% Satisfied).

(7) Question Asked: Finally, what is your overall favorite website and why?(n=1428)

Current Survey Sep ‘05 / Previous Survey May ‘05
Yahoo.com / 33% / 32%
Google.com / 24% / 17%
Ebay.com / 4% / 8%
Amazon.com / 3% / 5%
MSN.com / 5% / 4%
Changewave.com / 1% / 2%
CNN.com / 2% / 2%
Drudgereport.com / 1% / 2%
Other / 33% / 36%

Yahoo Still Overall Favorite Website, But Google Gains. Yahoo.com (33%) beats out Google.com (24%) as the overall favorite website, but Google has increased by 7-points in this regard, compared to a 1-point increase for Yahoo since May.

II. ChangeWave Research Methodology

This report presents the findings of the latest ChangeWave Alliance survey on Home Online Usage Trends. The survey was conducted between September21– 26, 2005. A total of 2,027Alliance members participated.

The Alliance’s proprietary research and business intelligence gathering system is based upon the systematic gathering of valuable business and investment information directly over the Internet from accredited members.

ChangeWave surveys its Alliance members on a range of business and investment research and intelligence topics, collects feedback from them electronically, interprets and reconciles the information in a cohesive manner and converts the information into valuable quantitative and qualitative reports.

The Alliance has assembled its membership team from senior technology and business executives in leading companies of select industries. Nearly 3 out of every 5 members (58%) have advanced degrees (e.g., Master’s or Ph.D.) and 94% have at least a four-year bachelor’s degree.

The business and investment intelligence provided by the Alliance provides a real-time view of companies, technologies and business trends in key market sectors, along with an in-depth perspective of the macro economy – well in advance of other available sources.

III. About ChangeWave Research

ChangeWave Research, a subsidiary of Phillips Investment Resources, LLC, identifies and quantifies "change" in industries and companies through surveying a network of thousands of business executives and professionals working in more than 20 industries.

ChangeWave has a very unique asset in its 6,000-member Alliance. We have assembled our membership team from a broad cross section of more than 20 vertical markets such as telecom, semiconductors, data storage, and biotechnology, along with a wide range of professional disciplines including CIOs, IT managers and programmers, executive management, scientists, engineers and sales personnel.

The ChangeWave Alliance is composed of senior technology and business executives in leading companies - credentialed professionals who spend their everyday lives working on the frontline of technological change.

This proprietary research and business intelligence gathering system provides a real-time view of companies, technologies and business trends in key market sectors along with an in-depth perspective of the macro economy - well in advance of other available sources. ChangeWave surveys its 6,000Alliance members on a wide range of investment research topics and converts the findings into valuable investment and business intelligence reports. ChangeWave delivers its products and services on the Web at

ChangeWave Research does not make any warranties, express or implied, as to results to be obtained from using the information in this report. Investors should obtain individual financial advice based on their own particular circumstances before making any investment decisions based upon information in this report.

For More Information:

ChangeWave ResearchTelephone: 301-279-4200

9420 Key West AvenueFax: 301-610-5206

Rockville, MD20850

Helping You Profit From A Rapidly Changing World ™

This information is from ChangeWave Research, LLC and contains confidential business information.