posted by Mark

As Google continues its well-documented run as the world's most popular search tool (garnering an 85%+ share, according to some estimates), many in the Internet marketing industry are left to wonder whether the recent merging of Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing will allow them to ever catch up… or at least gain some ground among searchers. Or could it be that people really do prefer all Google, all the time?

It turns out, the question is flawed. That's because there is already a strong second-place search engine, and one that's doing just great – YouTube.

While it's true that most people wouldn't classify YouTube is a search engine, and it might not technically count as one, the lines begin to blur a bit as you take a step back. After all, with more than one billion hits a day, it's obvious that people are turning to its short videos to find and learn, and they're doing it far more often than they are turning to non-Google search engines.

This highlights an important fact for online marketers: if you aren't getting your message out on YouTube, then you're missing a big piece of the market share. It isn't all cats jumping through hoops or lonely kids acting out movie scripts; any company can produce a video that has the potential to go "viral," or at least enhance their marketing message by adding a new format.

YouTube isn't a new phenomenon anymore, but it is one that lots of companies are just beginning to take advantage of. In future articles, we'll take a look at some ways you can use YouTube to increase sales. For now, though, just ask yourself this: with billions of people tuning in every week, why are they finding your business?