AOL Still Losing The Search Game At 2.1% Market Share

Sites include AOL.com . Published on November 18th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

There was a time when you would be hard-pressed to put the word ‘lose’ and ‘AOL’ in the same sentence, but these days that is so easy—so very easy. Since the heydays of the 90’s AOL has slipped consistently from grace and today the company is trading pretty much on reputation and the remnants of those people who refuse to ‘get with the times’.

AOL is having the least impact in the area of Search and based on the latest figures released by ComScore, the former tech giant commands only a 1.5% share of the search market. Its nearest competitor is Ask.com who has a share of 2.9%. The dismal performance of AOL in the various verticals that it operates has left many wondering its time the company changed leadership.

A leadership change may not be the complete answer though; AOL lacks the up-to-date relevance that is required to really compete in a web 2.0 environment. And even if it wanted to acquire that relevance, it lacks the capital base to expand through acquisition. In a real sense, AOL simply won’t be able to survive unless it becomes a part of something bigger; something more capable than it is presently showing.

There was talk recently of a merger with Yahoo (another struggling behemoth); perhaps it’s time its board considers the option.

The rumours have been swirling, but do you think AOL should merge with Yahoo? Let us know your thoughts below.