Facebook ‘a Growing Challenge to Google’s Search Dominance’

by Samantha Noble on 23rd August 2010

Facebook is becoming a more direct competitor to Google in terms of search, a team of analysts have stated.

Writing on the Barron's website, four officials from Wedbush Securities said that most of Google's revenues are now coming from its pay per click services.

Facebook is rapidly catching up with the internet giant in terms of its search operations, thanks to its innovative social system and base of 500 million members, the analysts stated.

They added: "Facebook is already driving more traffic to some leading websites (e.g., YouTube) and is poised to dramatically grow its share of traffic-generation just based on clicks from user news feeds."

The report went on to suggest that the social networking site will become a strong competitor to Google as it refines its search capabilities.

Earlier this month, Facebook Places was launched in the US – a service which allows users to keep their friends updated on locations they have visited.