Apple Moving Towards Bing Over Google

Apple Computer, Inc.

Apple has announced that their new operating systems' built in search tool, Spotlight, will show Bing results instead of Google results. I'm amazed to see Apple choosing a Microsoft solution over a Google solution and have been following this story closely.

The upcoming operating system puts Apple's Spotlight, a local search bar previously relegated to the top right corner of the screen, front and center as the dominant feature of the desktop. Its tool set has been expanded as well, allowing it to pull up results from local files, mail, calendars, even related iTunes content and results from Apple Maps, as well as broader Web searches. - Fierce CMO

Spotlight in Yosemite goes a step further. If you search for a movie title, for example, it shows nearby theaters and show times, plus related content streaming from iTunes. And it has Apple Maps integration if you search for a place. Spotlight is basically mimicking features from Google Now info cards, Gmail search, and Google search info cards and presenting them in a different way. - Slate

Google is the king of the mountain when it comes to search engines, so will it be enough to knock them down?

Apple's search tool shows only a few results per query, meaning a lot less real estate for results. That means Apple would have to prove that its small number of results are accurate enough to fulfill someone's query. Good-enough search has never been enough to unseat or take share from Google. - Ad Age

In addition to the spotlight changes, Safari is getting some new Spotlight-integrated, Google-bypassing features as well.

You can put a URL into the address bar, or search Google. But the address bar will now also give “Spotlight suggestions.” As you begin typing a prominent public figure’s name, for example, a brief version of their bio shows up in the Spotlight results. Clicking it takes you to their full Wikipedia page. - Slate

Both of these search options will not include Google's ads, which has to be a concern for Google and the companies paying for AdWords. I can only assume that will cut into Google's bottom line.

Google took in 70.8% of the $19.92 billion U.S. advertisers spent on search advertising last year, according to eMarketer estimates.  - Ad Age

Their name has become synonymous for searching, so it will be fascinating to watch how it all plays out.

It’s also a sign that Apple might be moving to turning Siri into its own branded search engine. Spotlight is handling a variety of different search tasks, similar to how Siri can. That’s a big change, and it could be a move toward Apple further distancing itself from Google search by using Siri as a stand-in. - Search Engine Land

What this means for us and our clients is that we will continue to optimize for Google, but will increase our and our clients' presence on Bing.