As expected, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a partnership this morning that will essentially stick Microsoft’s recently relaunched search engine Bing in place of Yahoo search and Yahoo’s ad sales in place of Microsoft’s. The two companies said that their complementary strengths would help them become a stronger market competitor (to *cough* Google), and that the deal would spur innovation in search, better value for advertisers, and “real consumer choice.”
The terms of the initial agreement will last for 10 years wherein Bing will be the “exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform” for all Yahoo sites. The companies aren’t giving up on Yahoo’s search, though, as Microsoft will also have a 10-year license to Yahoo’s core search technologies and the ability integrate Yahoo’s search mojo into Bing. Yahoo will also be responsible for ad sales for both companies’ premium advertisers, though self-serve advertising will still be handled by Microsoft’s AdCenter.
Originally Syndicated via RSS from Ars Technica
