Google Chrome Shows Serious Growth

The Google Chrome internet browser has increased its share of the global browser market from virtually nil upon its August 2008 release to slightly more than 20% in June 2011, according to analysis of StatCounter data from Pingdom. The numbers show it took 16 months for Chrome to get to 5%, but only half that time (eight months) to grow another 5%.

Chrome Outpaces Other Browsers

That means it took Google Chrome 24 months to gain its first 10% of market share, but only 10 months to gain its next 10%. Pingdom analysis indicates no other web browser is showing anywhere near this kind of growth rate.

IE, Firefox Lose Ground

While Chrome has been growing, two other major global browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Mozilla Firefox, have been losing market share. Between June 2010 and July 2011, while Chrome increased its share about 100%, from 10% to roughly 20%, IE saw its share decline about 20%, from roughly 50% to roughly 40%. In addition, Firefox’s share slightly dropped during that period.
Based on current growth patterns, Pingdom predicts Chrome will pass Firefox in terms of global market share in November 2011 and pass IE in June 2012. Chrome is expected to have in excess of 50% market share by November 2012.

Chrome Currently in 3rd

Chrome is currently in third place, behind Firefox and IE. However, it has about four times the global market share of its nearest competitor, Safari, and more than 10 times the market share of fifth place browser Opera.

Most Adults Agree Some Online Entities Too Powerful

One thing major browser providers such as Google and Microsoft should keep in mind is that when American adults were asked in an April 2011 Adweek/Harris Poll if they agree or disagree that some online companies, such as Google or Facebook, control too much of their personal information and know too much about our browsing habits, three quarters said that they agreed (76%), with 36% strongly agreeing. Only one in six disagreed that these companies know and control too much (16%), and even fewer were not sure (8%).