Although Google is still the 800-pound gorilla in the world of search, it appears that the search engine landscape is about to get more crowded, which could mean more work for companies using search engine optimization (SEO).

By now most people in the industry are aware that Microsoft is poised to make a big push in the search engine market this year with a reported $100 million ad campaign for its new search engine. It’s still unclear what the name of the new engine will be with various media reports saying that the name could be Kumo, Bing or even Hook.

But now it appears another search engine from Microsoft is in the works with paidContent.org reporting that the company has trademarked the name Sift which appears to be its brand for a new mobile search engine.

According to the website, the trademark for Sift says it is a "operating system software for mobile phones; computer search engine software; computer programs for searching email, text messages, address and contact information."

Although figures from Nielsen show that Microsoft only had 10.3 percent of the search market share in March, if the company is able to take the lead on mobile search it could be a game changer going forward.

This could also have an impact from a search engine optimization (SEO) perspective as more people are accessing online information from their cell phones. According to a report last year from Juniper Research, the number of people accessing the internet from a mobile device will jump from 577 million last year to 1.7 billion by 2013.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.