Even When Searching the Site on Naver, Instagram Doesn't Appear... Naver's Dilemma After Being Pushed to 4th Place

Gap Widens Between Instagram and Domestic Apps in Usage Time
Industry Says "Domestic Platforms Must Strengthen Short-Form Content to Survive"

Naver is ending the integration of social media (SNS) such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook in its search results. This move is analyzed as an attempt to retain users as usage time decreases due to being overshadowed by Instagram, which emphasizes 'short-form' videos.

Naver announced that it will terminate the 'Latest Content' integration, which provided SNS links when searching official government and public institution websites, within this month. It stated that search results will be changed to focus on press releases and announcements. Naver plans to expand accessibility to the latest information directly provided within the site, focusing on public institutions.

As a leading domestic portal site, Naver is recently troubled by a decrease in users. According to a sample survey of smartphone users conducted by WiseApp, Retail, and Goods (WiseApp) on the 9th, Instagram usage time in May was 389,937,341 hours, ranking third in 'most used apps' after YouTube (1,802,108,742 hours) and KakaoTalk (565,877,442 hours).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Instagram usage time was fourth in March, following Naver, but in April, it increased by 3.3% to 347,873,865 hours, surpassing Naver?which decreased by 0.8%?by 13,861,509 hours to rise to third place, maintaining this rank for two consecutive months. Last month, the gap with Naver increased to 46,418,705 hours, about 3.3 times the previous month.

This rise in Instagram is attributed to the popularity of the short-form service 'Reels,' launched in 2021, especially among younger users.

Naver intends to increase users by strengthening its strong search functions. It is focusing on enhancing the user search experience by applying its proprietary generative AI, HyperCLOVA X, to the search function.

It also plans to strengthen its own short-form feature, 'Clip,' by enhancing editor and viewer functions. Although Naver launched Clip in August last year, it is still evaluated as not significantly contributing to increased usage time or number of executions.

An IT industry insider said, "If they focus only on search enhancement as in the past, they will be left behind," and diagnosed, "Domestic platforms also need to strengthen short-form content that users frequently access and stay on for a long time, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts."