It took eight months, but the search strategy that Microsoft and Yahoo settled on after years of flirting is about to get started. Microsoft has received the go-ahead from both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission for its cooperative search arrangement with Yahoo.
Microsoft will now use its Bing search engine on Yahoo in exchange for the paid search results. Yahoo gets sales rights to advertising on their own, and Microsoft’s platforms.
Microsoft is counting on the 10-year deal with Yahoo to provide more muscle as it tries to counter Google's domination of the lucrative Internet search market. The companies make money by charging advertisers to pay to have their links appear when people search for certain terms.
“This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo! can focus even more on our own innovative search experience,” said Yahoo! chief executive Carol Bartz.
“Yahoo! gets to do what we do best: combine our science and technology with compelling content to build personally relevant online experiences for our users and customers.”
The only countries still left to approve the deal are Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, and itg seems unlikely that objections will be raised.
The companies said that by 2012 the transition to the new arrangement would be complete for everyone. An official web site, Search Alliance, has been set up to keep customers informed of progress.
Official Press Release: Yahoo! and Microsoft to Implement Search Alliance
Microsoft Transition Center
Yahoo Transition Center