Keeping in pace with the recent trend of search engine and mobile carrier deals, Yahoo! has inked an agreement with T-Mobile, becoming the on-deck search provider for devices on the T-Mobile network, excluding the G1 and the Sidekick phones. This deal arrived immediately on the heels of the AT&T/Yahoo agreement that recently went live.
So what do these types of deals mean for the mobile space?
- Before these deals existed, on-deck search consisted of a simple search box that helped users find ringtones, wallpapers and other info in a limited database. With these engine deals in place, on-deck search has opened up and mobile users are able to use the same engine databases that have helped them research health info, find restaurants, or prove a fact during a conversation with friends.
- These types of relationships will have a significant impact on mobile search behavior and traffic as mobile users become more aware that in the palm of their hands lies the search power of an engine they use daily on desktops for various needs.
- Advertisers can now leverage the experience and expertise from leading search agencies; benefiting from their collaborative efforts with the search engines. This also enables the advertiser to gain insight from both a paid and organic perspective. On-deck search channels are finally becoming defined which will ease the woes of reaching the mobile search audience.
With the mobile space rapidly growing, it can be tough to stay on top of expanding relationships highlighted in the news, but Yahoo’s growing deals are ones to be sure you keep an eye on.
I’m starting to wonder if Mobile is where Yahoo will start to emerge as the leader, cutting into Google’s reputation as the giant? For the past few years chatter has been about how Google dominates everything, but there has been little chatter about the areas and verticals for which Yahoo and Microsoft are dominating. Mobile search results on Yahoo for advertisers is eye-catching, and something I hope will become more of a discussion point publicly.
Google has long dominated desktop search for a multitude of reasons, including the simplicity of its SERPs. Mobile devices however, have highlighted how poorly the Google SERP device translates to a small screen (especially when you factor in universal search results). Providers of mobile search applications, whether they are a search engine like Yahoo or technology firm like Apple, who are willing to innovate the overall mobile search experience have a tremendous opportunity to stake their claim for a piece of the mobile search market. Whether it’s new mobile-friendly interfaces for traditional “search box” searching or emerging voice-based search applications the future looks exciting for mobile users. I am personally looking forward to mobile shaking things up when it comes to the overall search interface experience.