Think about how many systems Dell sells each year and you'll realize that that number from Google isn't exactly a useful metric. All that tells you is that a hell of a lot of people own them, which means jack.
Certainly Dell does make some less-expensive machines. I think most people realize you get what you pay for. However their size enables them to have a pricing structure that's actually pretty reasonble for what you get.
Of course you don't hear anything about the people who have a Dell for years and never have a problem with it.
One of the things Dell does to a very good job of is customer service, and that counts for a lot. I would still encourage people to go to your locale no-name computer guy, but as branded computers go, Dell is among the best.