Internet search is a lucrative business — just ask Google. The company accounts for two-thirds of desktop searches in the US. But change is afoot this year. Microsoft and Yahoo, numbers two and three in US search, could revisit their search agreement with each other. Yahoo’s market share in this field has risen (now 13 per cent, ComScore says) after it became the default for Mozilla Firefox. Meanwhile Google’s exclusive search deal with Apple’s Safari browser is up for grabs; UBS estimates that the Safari deal could drive nearly $8bn in sales for Google this year. So 2015 could become the year of the search wars.
互联网搜索是一项有利可图的业务——只需问问谷歌(Google)就知道了。该公司占美国台式电脑搜索的三分之二。但今年，这样领域正在酝酿一场变革。在美国搜索领域排名第二的微软(Microsoft)和排名第三的雅虎(Yahoo)，可能会重新修订互相之间的搜索协议。在成为Mozilla火狐(Firefox)浏览器的默认搜索引擎后，雅虎在互联网搜索领域的市场份额已上升（ComScore称，如今其份额为13%）。与此同时，谷歌与苹果(Apple)浏览器Safari的独家搜索协议仍悬而未决；瑞银(UBS)估计，与Safari的协议今年可能会为谷歌带来近80亿美元的销售额。因此，2015年可能会成为搜索大战之年。
This all matters more for Yahoo than for most of its rivals. Search will be a crucial part of the company after its stake in Alibaba is spun out. Its search agreement with Microsoft accounted for 35 per cent of revenues last year.
这一切对于雅虎，比对于它的大多数竞争对手更为重要。在雅虎剥离了其在阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的股权后，搜索将成为雅虎的一项关键业务。雅虎与微软的搜索协议占到雅虎去年收入的35%。
But that agreement with Microsoft has had its drawbacks. Under the 2009 deal, which covers desktop usage, Yahoo-branded searches essentially distribute Bing results. Microsoft controls the search algorithm and handles ad sales, taking a 12 per cent fee. Disappointing sales have led Yahoo to consider ending the deal. Chief executive Marissa Mayer said in the January earnings call that discussions were under way. The agreement allows Yahoo to wriggle out after five years if certain targets are not met. The window for renegotiation expires this week. Otherwise the agreement will stay in force for another five years.
但与微软的那份协议也存在一些不利之处。根据2009年的这份协议，雅虎品牌的搜索列出的主要是必应(Bing)的搜索结果。该协议涵盖了在台式机上的使用。微软控制搜索算法并管理广告销售额，从中抽取12%的分成。令人失望的销售额导致雅虎考虑终止该协议。在今年1月的盈利电话会议上，雅虎首席执行官玛丽萨•迈耶(Marissa Mayer)表示，谈判正在进行之中。该协议规定，假如5年后某些目标没有达到，雅虎可以退出。重新谈判的机会在本周到期。否则，该协议将再续5年。
But the bigger battle may be over mobile search. This has posed a challenge for search operators. Users do not engage with mobile search as deeply as with desktop, so advertisers are unwilling to pay as much for ads. Google has tried to address this with its Android operating system. Yahoo has built mobile search through acquisitions such as Aviate, an app with Yahoo search. But without full control over its search offerings and ad sales — across all formats — success in search could be an uphill battle for Yahoo.
但更重要的战役可能在移动搜索领域。这对搜索运营商构成了挑战。在移动端，用户对搜索的依赖并不像在台式机上那么高，因此广告商不愿支付那么多的广告费。谷歌一直试图利用其安卓(Android)操作系统来解决这个问题。雅虎则一直通过并购Aviate等应用扩大移动搜索业务，Aviate现已内置雅虎搜索。但对于雅虎而言，在没有完全控制搜索结果和广告销售（所有平台）的情况下，要想在搜索领域取得成功可能需要一场攻坚战。
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