Public want Google to succeed says research

A survey conducted by bigmouthmedia shows that the majority of British internet users want Google to maintain its stance as the leading search engine in five years' time.

Women are more supportive of the search engine than men, with only five per cent of women rooting for Google to lose pole position.

The survey asked whether Google would still be the leading search engine in five years.

Interestingly enough, the number of people who thought Google would hold the lead outweighed those who actually wanted the search engine to be in that position - with men more likely than women to predict that Google would retain its lead.

A significant 40 per cent of respondents admitted that they did not know whether they wanted Google to keep its lead or not.

Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan, said: "Google faces a huge challenge in not being seen as trying to gobble up the world.

"I suspect the best way to counter concerns is to be as open in advance of any moves, hear feedback and be shown as actually responsive by making some changes.

"I think recent moves with the cookies and log data retention is an example of this, though it's sadly countered by StreetView being rolled out without any heads-up that it was coming, to warn the public".

Earlier research carried out by the digital marketing agency bigmouthmedia had revealed that men are 50 per cent more likely than women to view Google as becoming too commercial.

"Research is a vitally important aspect of search engine marketing," said Andrew Girdwood, Head of Search at bigmouthmedia.

This data shows how confident searchers are of Google and how much goodwill the search engine has won.

"Marketers using Google should treat this goodwill with care but also look to harness it effectively for their own campaigns".

The survey commissioned by bigmouthmedia enjoyed over 1,100 responses, evenly split between male and female.

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