Google competitor Bing has landed a major coup this week, with the announcement that the Microsoft-owned search engine will be featured on RIM BlackBerry devices.
The news was announced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the BlackBerry World conference on 4th May. In an apparently surprise visit to the phone company’s conference, Ballmer seemed extremely pleased as he announced the move, and understandably so. With the relationship going public, Bing has now made a very strong challenge to Google for mobile search supremacy.
Google lost some valuable positioning when Apple allowed users to change their default search engine on mobile devices. The world’s number one search engine had, until then, enjoyed an exclusive relationship with the popular technology company, which kept users fixed to Google mobile search.
Some commentators, however, have questioned the significance of the BlackBerry-Bing relationship in the scheme of mobile search. BlackBerry has been losing market position over the last several months, dropping over four and a half percent in popularity between November 2010 and February 2011. If the phone company does continue to decline in popularity, Bing’s win could be a hollow victory.
The battle for mobile search dominance is of particular interest to businesses with an online presence, as more and more internet browsing occurs on mobile devices. With mobile search engine optimisation still developing, those in SEO careers are waiting to see which search engine will be dominant. The continued fluctuation in device popularity and company relationships means that an answer isn’t likely to appear soon.
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