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A survey has revealed Google is still the number one search engine; but MSN and Yahoo are closing the gap.

Keynote.com, an Internet marketing firm, conducted a survey of 2000 consumers to determine the level of satisfaction they received when using a particular engine. This data was measured against a number of metrics and a ranking was awarded.

Topping the list for customer satisfaction was not surprisingly Google. However, the study shows that both Yahoo and MSN are certainly gaining on Larry and Sergey's creation. Yahoo was ranked in second place, while MSN's search engine was third. Rounding out the top 5 are Ask.com and Lycos, respectively.

"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. "Given the open nature of the Web, as these sites continue to improve the user experience they will undoubtedly begin to attract more users and improve user loyalty. Obviously this will impact the advertising side of the business."

Helping MSN increase its level of user satisfaction was the separation of sponsored links from organic listings. Keynote indicated this change was responsible for "significant improvement in overall user experience."

Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.