Hitwise have released some data comparing various socio-economic factors from users of Google and Yahoo!. The research shows a younger, less affluent group of searchers use Yahoo!, while the richer, older audience prefers Google.

The graph demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the two search engines with the Y axis representing Yahoo! and the X axis representing Google. The top left hand box represents unique strengths for Yahoo! search, and vice-versa. The bigger the bubble, the more likely this group has spent $500 online.

As you can see, Google’s relative strengths (bottom right) indicate that those from “affluent suburbia” are most likely to be using Google, and there is a good chance they have spent over $500 online. This is in stark contrast to Yahoo!’s strengths of “struggling societies” and “blue collar backbone”.

While this data isn’t exclusive, it does give an interesting insight into the user base of both search engines. Small business owners should consider this type of demographic research when choosing which platforms to run their paid search campaigns. For example, advertisers targeting a younger audience may want to reconsider their choice of search engine and give Yahoo! a try.

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