Google?s influence in the quickly growing mobile search industry is reportedly a new focus of the Federal Trade Commission?s ongoing antitrust investigation into the company.

In the latest development, the FTC has subpoenaed Apple to find out more information about its deal with Google to make it the default search engine for the iPhone and iPad, according to reports. At issue in the latest development is whether Google?s agreements with Apple and other handset manufacturers to make Google the default search engine for their smartphones are anticompetitive as rivals such as Microsoft have suggested.

"The stakes are huge for Google to remain the default as we move to an all-mobile world,? said Lee Dalakos, vice president of strategy and analytics at Performics, Chicago.

?The FTC went after Microsoft for bundling Microsoft Search as the default for the IE browser and fined Microsoft for every day it kept Microsoft Search as the default,? he said.

?It was so important to Microsoft that it ultimately chose to pay the fines rather than get rid of the default. The stakes are arguably bigger for Google with the rise of mobile, so Google may choose to follow suit."

Google declined to comment for this story.

A dominant share
Other handsets manufacturers have also reportedly been subpoenaed.

Until now the FTC investigation has been focused on Google?s desktop search business.

Microsoft and others would like to form their own deals with handset manufacturers as popular desktop activities such as search increasingly migrate to mobile devices.

At stake are market share and the ad revenue that comes from paid searches via mobile devices. Google and Apple reportedly currently share this revenue as part of the deal to keep Google the default search engine on the iPhone and iPad.

Google?s relationship with Apple in mobile search is key given the popularity of the iPhone and iPad.
Combined with the growth in Android devices, which also offers Google as the default search option, this gives Google a dominant role in the growing paid search business.

?Google has close to 100 percent mobile search share - actual is 98 percent - so you could argue that Google being the default and the dominance of iPhone/iPad has led to Google's huge share,? said Dana Todd, senior vice president of marketing at Performics. ?It is a huge deal for Google as we see mobile search volume increasing every month."

Mobile Google paid search impressions are 16 percent of total impressions and Performics predicts that they will be 20 percent of all impressions by June.

Mobile Google paid search clicks are 21.5 percent of all clicks and will be 28 percent of all clicks by June, per Ms. Todd.

Popularity contest
Google?s popularity with consumers in desktop search would seem to make it a good choice for mobile search as well.

?Google is the most popular, or at least the most widely used search engine in the world,? said Matt Lawson, vice president of marketing at Marin Software, San Francisco. ?For device manufacturers making a choice of which search engine to use, Google is a natural choice because it represents the most popular option among consumers.?

Apple?s reputation as a company that puts the user experience first suggests it might have picked Google because this was the best option for its users.

However, Apple or another handset manufacturer could decide at some later date to embrace Bing or some other search engine.

?Bing has made some incredible improvements to its user experience,? Performics? Ms. Todd said. ?I am very impressed with the integration of search on Windows Phone.?

Making a switch
Mobile users can switch the default search engine on their handsets by adjusting the settings. They can also access another search engine by typing in its name in their browser.

However, many are unaware that they can do this or simply do not because it is too much work.

?If it were made easier to switch between search engines, that might be a better thing for users,? said Rob Garner, vice president of strategy at iCrossing, New York. ?That would be a benefit to users to have a default and an easy alternative.

?Apple could do this for its users,? he said

While the FTC seems intent on focusing on Google?s role in the search market, there are more pressing issues, per Mr. Garner.

?I am not sure that asking about dominance as a default search engine is the right question to ask because there is always going to be just one default search engine,? Mr. Garner said.

?I am not sure what they are trying to get to, ? he said.

?They could be looking more at the privacy of data and what rights users in search have with their data.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York