The Newest iOS Update – Why do marketers care?

Earlier this week, Apple released the iOS 11 update. Following their recent keynote and the corresponding hullabaloo around the new Apple watch, iPhone 8, and iPhone X releases – this software update largely went unnoticed by consumers and techies alike.

Per usual, the iOS 11 changes are largely security patches, slight design modifications, and user ‘feature improvements’.  One change with the iOS update that has interesting implications for Google search advertising and consumers alike is the switch from Bing to Google for Siri web and Spotlight searches. Historically both Siri and Mac Spotlight searches have been powered by Bing. This has hopefully encouraged marketers to emphasize ad spend for Bing correspondingly–especially in the realm of mobile ads, and encouraged users to yell and curse at Siri when queries return unhelpful jargon (mostly kidding).

Realistically, Bing has been grossly underutilized by digital marketers since the beginning – even with the knowledge that Siri and Spotlight searches relied heavily on the platform. Marketers seemingly rationalize this de-prioritization by citing the relatively low percentage of mobile/tablet searches conducted on the network:

https://www.netmarketshare.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4&qpcustomd=1

It absolutely makes sense to focus primary efforts in a bucket accounting for anywhere from 80% to 97% of search traffic (depending on device). The recent iOS 11 update, should then shift even more focus to Google as the primary ad platform moving forward for digital advertisers.

Or should it?

At a time when other marketers are liable to further neglect the second largest platform globally, it makes sense to emphasize Bing efforts more than ever following this iOS update. The great debate for both users and marketers has historically been ‘Bing vs. Google’, instead of the more effective – ‘Bing AND Google’.

In August of 2017, Bing accounted for 7% of total market share for searches on all devices.

Though this is a meager piece of the pie compared to the 81% that Google occupies, the sheer volume of searches daily (currently estimated at ~6.6 billion) makes advertising on even the comparably humble platforms well worth the time and effort. That gives Bing almost 465 million daily searches across devices.

Beyond the volume itself, continuing to advertise on Bing has a host of advantages for digital advertisers:

1.    Company Differentiator
   Since so few digital agencies utilize the platform (and fewer do so well), it is an EASY differentiator and way to ensure clients are outperforming their competitors.
2.    Simple to Use
   Bing synchronicity with the Adwords platform makes it easy to replicate performing campaigns with very little extra effort.
3.    Low competition
   Fewer competitors advertise on the platform which lowers costs per acquisition compared to Google– the same high intent traffic and conversions can be gained at lower costs overall.

At the end of the day, the recent iOS update may serve to shift slightly more of the market share of searches to Google’s backyard. As we continue to see changes in the landscape of mobile and voice search, it is important to remember that “the little guy” when it comes to search engines is still a behemoth in terms of visibility and scale.

TLDR; The iOS 11 update may encourage most marketers to further exclude Bing from Paid and Organic campaigns. If the update even creates a ripple large enough to shift more of the market share to Google (which it may not) Bing is still the number two search engine globally and is deserving of our focus and attention.

Think Google’s market share will increase? Have questions on how to optimize for Bing and Google? Let us know in the comments below!