At the end of 2007, Google got kicked off of the top of the world wide web by Microsoft. The now traditional rivalry between the two companies, one just as acute as the face-off between Microsoft and Apple, is translated in the race for Internet eyeballs. Eyeballs that are subsequently monetized via online advertising. And in addition, the two companies are also slicing up the search engine market, which reflects on the advertising revenue in the end.

When it comes down to top parent companies and top online brands, Google had no contest from Microsoft before November 2007. The Mountain View-based search giant dominated both the Top 10 Parent Companies and the Top 10 Brands for the U.S. market, according to data from Nielsen Online. "A parent company is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single entity. A brand is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs that has a consistent collection of branded content", Nielsen informed.

Back in October, Google accounted for unique audiences of 120 million as a parent company, and 114 million as a brand, with Microsoft and Yahoo breathing down its neck. In November, the situation has changed. Google is no longer leading the pack of parent companies. Instead, Microsoft has taken its place with a little over 121 million unique visitors. The Mountain View company slipped to the number two position with 120 million, while Yahoo is third with almost 112 million. As far as the top three brands are concerned, the situation remains unchanged with Google (112 million) ahead of Yahoo (110 million), Microsoft (96 million) and MSN/Windows Live with (95 million).

Last reported for October 2007, the U.S. search engine market share sets Google firmly in the first position, for the end of 2007. The Mountain View company has attracted over 4.4 billion searches for a market share of 55.5%. Each user performed a number of 40.7 queries via Google, in October. Yahoo is second with 1.49 billion searches, a share of 18.8% and an average of 26.7 searches per user. Microsoft follows with the combined results from MSN and Live Search accounting for 31 searches per user, almost 1.1 billion searches and a market share of 13.8%.