08 July 2010 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Twitter second only to Google in the search stakes

Having already succeeded in providing stiff competition to Facebook in the social sphere, Twitter has set its sights on the lucrative search market too - and according to co-founder Biz Stone, the microblogging site is now second only to Google.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Stone announced that Twitter delivers 800 million searches daily, totaling 24 billion each month. Based on the company's previous estimate of 600 million per day in April, the social network's search feature is a rapidly growing phenomenon - rising by 33 per cent in just over two months.

If these figures bear out, it means Twitter has long since eclipsed the likes of Bing and Yahoo!, which, according to Fast Company, account for around 13.5 billion per month combined (4.1bn and 9.4bn respectively). Search sensei Google still leads the way with 88 billion monthly search queries, but increasing demand for real-time searches could mean the San Francisco start-up represents the greatest threat to its dominance.

While Google has been prompt to respond to the demand for real-time searches through its incorporation of Twitter feeds and its recent Caffeine update, Twitter has the advantage of mileage, with Trending Topics having been a key feature of the site since its 2006 launch.

Although PC Pro points out that the real-time nature of Twitter Search means it cannot be realistically compared to dedicated search engines - many of its searches are the result of clicking through tags - there are signs the microblogging site is investigating ways to both formalise and monetise its search offering.

Following the launch of Promoted Trends for advertisers to capitalise on discussions about their product or service, Twitter recently unveiled @earlybird, which allows businesses to re-tweet timely offers, promotions and events to their clients.

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