Google Search Engine Pulls Further Ahead of Yahoo

Google (GOOG) widened its lead as the world's most popular search engine last month as students returned to school. The company attracted 66.1% of U.S. searches in September, up from 65.4% the previous month, according to a ComScore report released Wednesday.

The gain marked the first month-over-month increase this year for Google, which is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings Thursday, UBS analyst Brian Pitz wrote in a research note.

Meanwhile, the search share for Yahoo, the No. 2 search engine, fell to 16.7% in September from 17.4% in August, according to ComScore. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Ask Network and AOL Network sites collectively accounted for 17.2% of search-engine visits in September, remaining approximately flat from August, ComScore said.