The 4.33% Question

Can ChatGPT's growing market share spark a revolution in search behavior?

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Google’s Got 99 Probs, but ChatGPT Ain’t 1… Yet

Is ChatGPT really challenging Google's search dominance? While Google’s still on top, new data suggests the tides could turn.

Google reigns supreme

As of last month, ChatGPT's market search share is 4.33%, according to Rand Fishkin of audience research platform Sparktoro.

This estimate, based on data from SimilarWeb and Datos, assumes that every ChatGPT prompt counts as a "search" and combines desktop and mobile web traffic (excluding apps) from various sources.

  • Google commands a staggering 83.5% market share.

  • YouTube ranks second at 6.8%, ChatGPT ranks third at 4.3%.

  • Collectively, other platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and LinkedIn account for just 3.3%, while Bing only accounts for about 2%.

ChatGPT’s slow burn

Marcus Tober from Semrush shared a projection that showed ChatGPT could close the gap, assuming a 13% month-over-month growth rate.

If this growth continues, ChatGPT could catch up to Google in four years.

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Instagram’s Ghost Followers and Hashtag Phase Out

No more getting ghosted on reach—Instagram is now showing you how many inactive profiles follow your brand.

Now, when you view your “Followers” list, there’s a new category called “Deactivated accounts,” which flags inactive profiles, along with other categories like creator accounts and flagged profiles.

Clearing the digital cobwebs

But if those numbers still boost your follower count, why remove them?

Well, they’re messing up your stats for one, as all of your average performance figures are divided by the total number of followers you have. So your engagement rates and reach data could be impacted, depending on how you measure them...

....They could also be messing up your ad targeting sets if you’re aiming to reach people similar to the audience that you have.

Goodbye ghosts, goodbye hashtags

In other news, Instagram is making your brand hashtag irrelevant.

The platform is removing the option to follow hashtags, as it looks to curb hashtag spammers.

Starting December 13th, any hashtags users follow will no longer appear in their feed, and they won't be able to follow new ones either.

What is the most followed hashtag on Instagram?

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