Forbes
It’s been a rocky relationship, but the marriage is finally here: Microsoft and Yahoo! are uniting in Internet search.
After months of back-and-forth–and the installation of a new CEO at Yahoo!–the two companies announced a search partnership Wednesday, to help counter industry giant Google. Advertisers will “no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70% of all search,” said Yahoo! and Microsoft, as they announced a ten-year agreement to join forces.
Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, will become the default search engine on Yahoo!’s site, as reported in the press on Tuesday, and Microsoft will also get an exclusive license to Yahoo!’s search technology. Meanwhile, Yahoo! will become the exclusive sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers. “Self-serve” advertisers will be catered for by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform, which will also set prices by automated auction for all search ads. More…