How Big a Threat Do App Stores Pose to Search?

"The App Store is replacing the web search engine for mobile device users, at least for some searches," argues Dan Frommer, Senior Staff Writer of Business Insider. The long-term issue is just how much search volume (and therefore ad revenue) might be at risk.

Apps are good for some content, such as games, camera apps, productivity software and utilities, for example. Lots of people might also argue apps are suitable replacements for traditional websites, though many users with smartphones and decent browsers might simply say they prefer access to the "full" version, not the mobile-optimized apps, which remind some users of the older WAP-style, text-heavy experiences. That is mostly going to be a matter of end user preferences.

There might also be a developing difference between iPhone and Android users. Many iPhone users might not realize they can save bookmarks that essentially provide "app" functionality. Many Android users probably figure out pretty quickly they can do so, and can simply substitute an icon that is a "bookmark" for an icon that represents an "app."

The point is that some subset of searches on mobile devices is going to be different than search on desktop computers, which puts Google's core search business at a bit of risk. The example Frommer points to is users going to the App Store looking for a shortcut to "Facebook," when they could use a browser, go to Facebook and then simply create a bookmark.

But there are other ways to make search a lot easier on a touchscreen device. Voice-activated search is one of those alternatives.

The choices likely will be most relevant for popular web sites, games and other content experiences. Apps will be viable there, but it is somewhat hard to see general search functions being substantially replaced by apps.

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