Google is still the search leader but rival engines Yahoo! and MSN are starting to catch up. 'Google is the king of customer experience in the search engine industry, but Yahoo!, MSN and Ask Jeeves are improving,' said Dr. Bonny Brown, director of research and public services for Keynote Systems.

Keynote conducted a survey of 2,000 web users for their opinions on the major search engines. Questions covering brand impact, customer satisfaction levels and future usage were asked. They compared the results of this poll with the same questions asked in May 2004 using the same demographic.

Google came out on top with 84 percent of those polled who said it's their primary search engine. 61 percent of those questioned said Yahoo! is their primary search engine - a 20 percent increase from last May's poll. MSN had a jump of 30 percent, with more people saying it was their main search engine. Microsoft's total was a low but respectable 38 percent. It's a nice turnaround for MSN as they are about to launch their new search engine to the general public.

"Google is very well established as the best search engine in the eyes of the consumer," said Bonny Brown, director of research and public services for Keynote. "This time around, the ratings for Yahoo and MSN significantly increased. They're getting closer to Google."