Ad network Chitika has released a new tool that provides a user percentage or traffic market-share breakdown of PC operating system and search usage on a state-by-state basis. Google is the only search engine for now; combined Bing and Yahoo usage can be inferred by simple math.
The company says it will be adding other search engines and mobile devices in the future.
Chitika tracks the various sources of ad impressions on its network to determine operating system and device share. The data are based on many millions of impressions on a monthly basis. Tools like this and StatCounter are valuable because they’re based on actual behavior and traffic rather than self-reported survey data or “shipments” estimates.
Here are some facts and data the tool reveal:
- Wyoming and Virginia are the two states with the highest Linux-based PC usage
- Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska have the highest percentage of Mac users
- Washington, as one might expect, is Microsoft country with more than 98 percent of users on the Windows platform
- Google’s top three states are: Utah (73 percent), California and New York. West Virginia has the lowest percentage of Google users (54 percent)
Right now, the data and capabilities of the tool are limited. Hopefully, the addition of other devices and data will come soon. You can play with the tool here.
Postscript: At 53 percent Mississippi is actually the state with the lowest Google usage.
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