Since teaming up with Rudy De Waele, blogger at mTrends and  dotopen founder, to develop mobile search case studies in preparation for a workshop on Mobile Search Future Prospects organized by JRC IPTS (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commission), and seeing the positive response to our work to date, I’m convinced mobile search is back again at the top of the industry agenda. And with good reason: Search is the de facto interface to all things digital in the online space, and there is every indication that it will be the same in mobile.

From mobile advertising, where our queries trigger the delivery of related advertising (in the best case scenario, we’re not there yet), to social media, where the content we appreciate and discuss across destinations ranging from MySpace to Twitter allows us to restore balance in an otherwise purely algorithmic approach that tends to promote search engine optimized websites over what we find genuinely relevant and useful, mobile search is where the action is.

But as Rudy and I have both pointed out in our recent presentations, mobile search is not about the usual suspects (Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft). Rudy spoke at Next09, and you can find his slides  further on in this post; I spoke at the European Mobile Media Conference, and my deck can likewise be found after the jump.

Indeed, context and personalization change all the rules (!)

A highlight of our recent presentations: A comprehensive overview of the market and (thanks to Rudy) a SWOT analysis of the players that stand out in their category such as Google (universal search with a poor mobile offer and an even weaker grasp of social search), and Twitter (a case of mobile search + social media = real-time results that really reflect what we discuss/share).

In my own mobile search research – an on-going project that began back in 2004/2005 when I wrote the first report on mobile search and content discovery, a 220+ page report published by Informa Telecoms & Media – I have recently identified some 60+ companies and 10+ categories of mobile search I would like to share with you (below) for your feedback.

INTERACE

• Text: ChaCha, 4INFO,MINFO, textperts (acquired by 118118), Answers.com, AnyQuestionAnswered, Ask, AskMeNow
• Voice: Google, Yahoo, Vlingo, Microsoft, ChaCha (Watch this space for an expert assessment of the voice-enabled services offered by Google, Vlingo, and ChaCha. ( I am proud to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Peggy Albright, MSG Associate and founder of Albright Communications, and even prouder of the results.)
• Visual: IQ Engines, Kooaba, Mobile Acuity, Searchme, SnapNow, SnapTell, Tin Eye Mobile, Nokia
• Navigational: Boopsie, kannuu, Nuance (through Tegic acquisition)

ACTIONABLE

• Universal: Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL (based on Google), Medio Systems, JumpTap (although a much stronger focus on mobile advertising)
• Federated: MCN, Motricity (managed mobile search platform providers)
• Operator-centric search: Amdocs, Qualcomm, IBM and this company coming out of stealth mode
• Alternative search: Defined as every service except for Google, and includes a long tail of 1500+ search engines (tracked by AltSearchEngines) with ambitions to go mobile – some sooner than later
• Vertical/content-specific search: abphone, vtap, Truveo
• Local search: Hundreds of players that offer local search via SMS services, on their own WAP sites, and/or as part of a nearby shopping scheme. (Fortunately, the local mobile search landscape is the topic of an upcoming column on MSG from Martin Wilson, founder of Indigo 102, an independent consultancy with a focus on mobile local search and services, so watch this space!)

SOCIAL

• abphone, ChaCha, Hiogi, Taptu
• Twitter in a class by itself!

It’s work in progress, but it’s all the more exciting if we remember that – in mobile search – the players that matter and the business models that deliver are wide open to discussion.

Indeed, the central role of mobile search in a wide variety of mobile services around sharing, advertising, location, and context-aware activities turns up the pressure on an even broader range of businesses (operators, brands, agencies, enablers – everyone!) to understand what mobile search delivers (and doesn’t) and the companies/models that do it best.

To help mobile professionals and practitioners navigate this tough terrain, Rudy and I have joined together on a project to produce the definitive mobile search market overview, a work that will draw from primary research, case studies, and exclusive forecasts to document this exciting space and present our recommendations for strategies to harness growth opportunities on the horizon.

I still have the opportunity to take your views and perspectives into account, and I would welcome your input. The project, widely distributed via our sites and via our network of sites, supporters, and influencers, will also offer a commercial opportunity to companies interested in conveying their value proposition to a growing community of senior executives and decision-makers in the mobile space.

If you are a mobile search company with an interest in being considered for an interview, please contact me directly or send an email to my assistant Andrea Henninge (andrea@msearchgroove.com).

To be clear, this is not about being anti-Google; it’s about encouraging people to explore the choice of alternative search engines available to them. Last count there were some 1,500 alternative search engines – ranging from FAROO, which enables peer-to-peer Internet search, to Kosmix, a new twist on old meta search that delivers search results across a multitude of categories, including opinions from Omgili, video from Truveo, social search results from Mahalo, and the basics from sources such as eBay, YouTube, and Wikipedia. And the list goes on…

Charles tells me his annual call to action was as popular as ever this year, resulting in posts, tweets, and emails from readers sharing their experiences as they went through a day without Google. For just one day, I would like you to use an alternative to Google when you perform searches on your mobile phone.

I know from my own work researching mobile search and compiling a comprehensive directory of mobile search providers, that the choice in mobile search engines is impressive. If you want to know results that really resonate with real people, then you might consider Taptu. If you want downloadable content that you are likely to appreciate, then you might try abphone. If you are searching for shops and offers, then you might give Slifter a spin.

And if you are conducting a search with your cameraphone, then you can pick from over a dozen visual search providers including Thrrum MMS Search (provided by 23half Inc. and available to T-Mobile and Verizon subscribers in the U.S.), and TinEye Mobile, an iPhone app from Idée that lets you get pricing info, reviews and more on a specific music track by taking a picture of the CD cover.

(I count 15 types of mobile search and 60+ providers, all of whom I intend to profile on MSG in the coming weeks/months. If you are a mobile search provider that I haven’t yet covered on MSG, or if you would like to be included in the directory, then please contact me directly. I am eager to hear your story! )

But it’s not just about more choice. I also know from my own road tests and analysis that made-for-mobile alternative mobile search engines excel where universal Internet search engines such as Google have been known to fall short.

Additional independent confirmation of this view comes from a number of sources quoted on MSG over the last months, including Mobile Commerce (which revealed data during a recent Mobile Search Masterclass that proves Google mobile search results tend to be less than satisfactory) and a recent report from Bernstein Research, which points out Google may have brand recognition, but stresses Yahoo delivers a potentially better quality and more holistic user experience. (I’ll have more on Yahoo after Chloe Graf confirms a date for my upcoming podcast interview. My personal thanks to Chloe for her extra effort and hard work in making this possible.)

And there are other good reasons to explore alternative search services. In fact, I’ll have more concrete data soon when my associate Peggy Albright (founder of Albright Communications) and I release our evaluation of voice search on an iPhone later this month. What started out as a basic services road test has developed into a 25+ page comprehensive analysis of leading voice search providers. It has taken a little longer than we planned, but the research stands out as the only work of its kind in the industry today.

I encourage you to explore the wealth of search services available on mobile and circle back to share your experiences. How was YOUR day without Google?

Disclaimer: Taptu and abphone have collaborated with MSG on white papers and research projects.