作者：Ethan Levy

最近来自Bloomberg的报告宣称，苹果正致力于在App Store中添加付费搜索。在阅读了那篇文章后我不得不承认自己对此的担忧。当我在想像App Store开始带有付费搜索时，我发现他们的店面将进一步突显最畅销的游戏开发者，并因此导致该平台很难再去吸引一些全新或较小的游戏开发者。

我的担忧在于，这将给游戏开发者造成负面影响，并会引出一些不可预期的结果。浏览器中的付费搜索与App Store中的付费搜索的区别便在于苹果已经收取了30%开发者在该平台上所赚取的收益。所以如果苹果这么做的目的在于提高收益，那么花更多时间去思考如何更有效地将更多玩家带进他们可能觉得有趣且愿意花钱的游戏和应用中会更有效。

对于我来说付费搜索更适合网页内容。让我们举个例子来说把，假设我想通过桌面浏览器去买一些新T恤。

google research（from gamasutra）

如果我在自己的浏览器上搜索“gap的T恤“，那么最上方的结果将是来自Gap的赞助插件所显示一些T恤。在搜索中，谷歌呈现给我的是一种免费服务并且不管我是在Gap中消费1000美元还是在J Crew中消费50美元，它都不会向我收取任何费用。所以通过在搜索结果中使用赞助插件，谷歌将可以在我点击了赞助链接时从中获取收益。付费搜索让谷歌能够从我想要购买东西的意愿中获取收益并让Gap能够维护其搜索内容。

另一方面，如果我在App Store中搜索《Clash Royale》，苹果能够通过让Supercell花钱去维护自己的搜索内容中获取什么利益呢？如果我安装了《Clash Royale》，首先苹果将能从我在游戏中的消费中赚取30%的抽成。假设他们最终在Supercell和MZ关于所有赞助搜索结果的斗争中赚取了不错的利益，但是最终的意义又是什么呢？已经很有钱的公司将再次在付费搜索中投入自己所赚取的收益，从而进一步巩固自己在最上端的位置，而App Store也将不再是游戏开发者考虑投入时间和精力的目标平台。与此同时VR，bot以及其它全新内容将更多地吸引开发者们的注意。

这便是我的担忧。我认为如果苹果想要保障部分用户获取预算而不是将其用于市场营销网络中，他们就应该在App Store中设计一个全新产品去为开发者创造能够提高用户搜索的新机遇。即首先他们需要想办法去迎合并提高用户价值，然后他们需要让开发者能在这一框架中有效地推广自己的游戏和应用。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Fears of Apple’s Paid Search Plans

by Ethan Levy

A recent report from Bloomberg claims that Apple is investigating adding paid search to the App Store. Upon reading the article, I must admit that my immediate reaction was one of concern. When I imagine an App Store with paid search results, I see a storefront that further entrenches the dominance of top grossing developers while making the platform less attractive to new entrants and small-to-mid level game developers.

My fear is that this will be a net negative for game developers and cause a number of unintended consequences. The difference between paid search in the browser and paid search in the App Store is that Apple already takes a 30% cut of all app revenue generated on their platform. So, if increasing revenue is their goal, their time would be better spent figuring out how to organically get more players into games and apps where they have a predisposition to have a lot of fun and spend a lot of money.

Paid search makes perfect sense to me on the web. Let’s take an example of me looking to buy some new t-shirts from the desktop browser.

If I search for “gap mens shirts” in my browser, the top result is a sponsored widget from Gap showing me shirts. On the search, Google provided a service to me for free and recieves $0 regardless of if I go on a $1,000 shopping spree on Gap or choose to spend $50 in J Crew instead. So by allowing for a sponsored spot on this search result, Google can make money on the search if I click the sponsored links. Paid search allows Google to generate revenue on my intention to purchase and forces Gap to defend their search term.

On the flip side, if I search Clash Royalae on the App Store, what does Apple gain by forcing Supercell to spend money defending their search term? If I install CR, Apple gets 30% of any money I spend in my lifetime in the game. I suppose they could end up making a nice profit on the fight between Supercell and MZ to dominate all sponsored search results, but to what end? The already rich will reinvest a large chunk of their profits back into the paid search, further fortifying their position on top, while the App Store becomes a less and less attractive platform for game developers to think about investing their time and energy into. Meanwhile, VR, bots, and the world’s next “next new thing” become more and more attractive.

This is my fear. I think that if Apple wants to secure a portion of UA budgets for themselves instead of giving it over to marketing networks, they should design a new product within the App Store that first creates new opportunities for developers to increase their organic reach, and then has a way to promote naturally built into it. First deliver delight and value to your users, then build in a way for developers to promote their games and apps within that framework.（source：gamasutra）