Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is targeting one of the big deals that will be expiring and open for competition in the technology industry this year.
Google is the default search engine for Safari, the web browser of Apple. The agreement between the tech giants on the service is set to expire.
On the other hand, Microsoft’s Bing serves as the default search engine for Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant and knowledge navigator application on Apple’s iOS operating system.
Marissa Mayer thinks Apple will ditch Google
Will Marissa Mayer be able to steal the deal away from Google? Given the situation, Microsoft is in an advantage position to strike a deal with Apple.
There are rumors in the Silicon Valley that Marissa Mayer is fairly confident that she can strike a deal with Apple for Yahoo to become the default search engine for Safari, according to Jay Yarow of Business Insider, Business Insider.
The report indicated that Marissa Mayer believes that Apple and Yahoo would be great partners, and the iPhone maker will end its partnership with Google.
During the recent earnings conference call of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer discussed Safari, a sign that she is targeting a deal with Apple.
Safari users are the most engaged and lucrative
When asked about the possibility for Yahoo to become the default search engine for Safari, Marissa Mayer declined to comment of potential partnerships. However, she emphasized the reasons why she wants Yahoo to succeed in reaching an agreement with Apple.
According to her, Safari users are the most engaged and lucrative worldwide. She emphasized that the Yahoo team worked closely with Mozilla to provide an experience designed and suitable for users. “We welcome the opportunity with any other partner to do the same, particularly one with Apple’s volume and end user base,” said Marissa Mayer.
Last year, she expressed her commitment to developing search technology. According to her, Yahoo is “long on search” because it is about curiosity, which will never end.
Safari is important because of its dominance in mobile. Based on data from Netmarketshare, Safari has 44% market share in mobile and tablets compared with 40% share of Android and Chrome.
Morgan Stanley previously estimated that Google is paying $1 billion annually to Apple to become the default search engine for iPhone. That means Yahoo should be willing to pay the same amount or more to be able to steal the search deal from Google.
You think AAPL will miss $1bn here or there? You think GOOG will miss the extra pocket change? No. But YHOO sure could do with it.
I think this is more about what Ms Mayer would like than Apple or Google. The Apple/Google spat was largely sustained by Steve Jobs’ anger. I think Tim Cook would mainly just want to move on. Even if that means sticking with the market leader, he just wants the best for iPhone, especially as he knows £1bn means very little to either AAPL or GOOG.
Can she bring shares of Yahoo back to 50?
This is like asking “Hey Apple, want to switch to Microsoft’s search engine, Bing?” because that is the search engine Yahoo uses for results. Why use Yahoo, when you can strike a deal with MS/Bing themselves?