News sources have recently confirmed that Yahoo! (YHOO, Financial) is wooing Apple (AAPL, Financial) to make it the default search engine for Safari which is omnipresent in the Apple hardware landscape and benefits from its significant user base. In fact, Apple was using Google (GOOG, Financial) as the search engine for Safari till date but the contract is expected to expire in 2015. Hence, Yahoo! and Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) are both courting Apple, as the Google-Safari search deal is about to close by next year. If such a deal gets finalized with Yahoo! then what would happen to Google, its immediate competitor in search optimization. Let’s also find out how Yahoo! benefits from the Safari association. Here’s the real story.
Non-renewal of contract to affect Google
If makes a shift in the partnership and agrees to go with Yahoo!, Google’s search engine would be the default on only the Chrome browser and on Android run mobile devices. That means that there might be a sharp decline in market share held by Google in the U.S. search engine market where it currently holds a significant portion of search share. Presently, Google is ruling over 60% of the U.S. market share benefitted by Chrome, Android run devices, as well as the different versions of Safari. If Safari is going to Yahoo!’s kitty, Google will face a considerable dip in market share as noted by NetMarketShare.
Signing the contract with Yahoo!
Apple might just decide to adopt the strategy of keeping friends closer rather than enemies. Yahoo! is Apple’s closest friend as it helps the former to serve its users’ with weather and stock information. Meanwhile, Google is the immediate contender of Apple, and Apple might just want to untangle itself from having any ties with the rival. If Apple takes this path, it might serve as a headwind to Google’s search engine popularity and usage. This partnership shift would aid Apple to receive a bigger cut by partnering with Yahoo! rather than with Google.
However, there is only one flaw that Apple might face – its Safari users have been using Google till now as search engine, a shift in web browser might lead to technical snags for the users accustomed with Google as search engine partner.
As far as Yahoo! is concerned, it’s the best way to promote itself as a search engine to be sought more than often. After all, the various versions of Safari hold about 35% market share in the U.S. Hence, if Yahoo! convinces Apple to use its search engine before the Google-Safari contract expires, placement of Yahoo! Search on Safari would market Yahoo! to 35% of all search queries from smartphone, PCs, laptops or any other communication devices. Yahoo!’s CEO, Marissa Mayer has reportedly already talked with quite a few Apple executives about the future potential of Yahoo! Search on iOS. But the final decision from Apple’s end is yet to be announced.
What’s the best bet for Safari
Though the final word on who’s going to serve as Safari’s search engine is yet to be decided, analysts are of the opinion that Apple might treat Yahoo! as the first choice, then think over Microsoft and if it gets reasons for going with Google instead of the other two, it might do so as the third choice. In fact, Apple’s Mac and iOS is an alternative universe from Microsoft’s Windows – then why should Apple make Microsoft’s Bing Safari’s default web browser. There more or less not going to happen, so the other best choice for Apple is nobody else but Yahoo! Let’s stay tuned and watch out who finally wins the new search engine contract for Apple’s Safari, but as of now it should be either Yahoo! or Google.
