14 DAY TRIAL // The “Powered by Bing” disappearance from Yahoo search pages got people thinking that the company might be testing its own mobile search engine.
An inside source declared for The Business Insider that Yahoo is experimenting this new feature on approximately 15 percent of its users.
Back in 2010, Yahoo and Microsoft closed a deal for a 10-year-search partnership, hoping to defeat Google as the world’s most used search engine.
It is true that their plans failed and that they haven’t managed to beat Google to this day, but this can’t be the cause of Yahoo’s decision to build up its own search engine.
People don't know what to make of the Bing branding removal
In fact, the deal between the two tech giants never included mobile search, so Yahoo is not breaking the arrangement if it decides to use its own search engine, as long as it’s for mobiles only.
The exclusion of this branding from the search pages is proof that CEO Marissa Mayer has some changes in mind.
And these changes were to be expected, especially since the company has known a downfall in shares following its partnership with Microsoft while the latter has benefited from it. On top of that, it is a known fact that Yahoo's CEO was very critical of the alliance ever since she took over in 2012.
Furthermore, some think that the change of the mobile search engine is just the first step and that Yahoo is actually trying to end the deal altogether.
None of the companies has made any comments on the matter, nor has Yahoo officially announced that they would indeed implement the changes on mobiles.
If Yahoo drops Bing for its mobile search, it is only a matter of time before the change goes through completely.
Another intriguing fact is that Yahoo did not deny the alleged rupture from Bing, "Search is an important part of Yahoo's business, and we're always experimenting and looking to improve the experience for our users. We have nothing to announce at this time," Search Engine Land reported.
On the other hand, the change could simply consist of a redesign of the search results and the branding dropping might be just a step in giving the search page a makeover.
