Online measurement company comScore is to look at the search market more broadly, according to the firm's chief executive Magid Abraham.Changes to the way comScore presents data on the search market are being made to mirror developments in user behaviour, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Instead of solely counting entries in search engines' boxes, comScore now wants to display searches made for other specific sites such as eBay and Wikipedia.
"Search is no longer the box we're all used to," Mr Abraham indicated during a demonstration on his laptop.
"A more fluid definition of the market necessitates looking at search more broadly."
Dubbed qSearch 2.0, comScore hopes the changes will present clients with more ways to organise and view search data. Mr Abraham revealed to the AP that this method could prevent his firm from becoming overly involved in company disputes about figures.
Following the developments, search engines such as Google and Yahoo! will be now be credited when the same terms are typed into different sections of their sites.
An example of this in practice would be Google getting credit for three searches if the same word is viewed under its Web, Images and News offerings - something which previously counted as one search.
Under comScore's new qSearch 2.0, Yahoo! has lost market share from a year ago, standing at 23.5 per cent in July 2007, while Google has gained market share, achieving a level of 55.2 per cent in the same month.
