Financial Implications of the Yahoo and Microsoft Search Alliance
By GroupM Search
In July 2009, Yahoo, the one-time King of Search, and Microsoft, the deep-pocketed afterthought of the search marketplace, announced an alliance designed to present a singular, legitimate threat to the dominance of Google. Dubbed the “Search Alliance,” this deal set forth to allow Yahoo to represent its inventory of advertisers across both search engines, while installing the Bing back-end systems, both paid and organic, as a single solution to all visitors.
In October 2010 this alliance will formally come to fruition. GroupM Search conducted this research to explore the implications of the Search Alliance and help advertisers prepare for and minimize the impact of unknown variables once the transition of Bing powering Yahoo’s search results begins. The study was completed by GroupM Search’s Predictive Insights group, a team comprised of econometric statisticians and mathematicians with expertise cultivated in the area of search marketing. The study reveals a sizeable increase in competition that the merger to one platform will bring. Further, it provides insight into a period of volatility advertisers can expect post-transition and cost implications the Search Alliance will have compared to current Bing cost-per-clicks (CPCs).
What is the Search Alliance?Microsoft and Yahoo have entered into a business agreement for the search segment of their businesses, creating a shared search offering known as The Search Alliance. Organic and paid search results on both engines will be powered by Microsoft’s Bing engine, with all paid search running through Microsoft’s adCenter. While the results shown on both engines will be the same, Yahoo and Microsoft will own and innovate the delivery of search results on their respective engines and the site-side visitor experience. The companies will also maintain and service their own affiliate search partners, display advertising, and other properties that comprise their business.
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Financial Implications of the Yahoo and Microsoft Search Alliance (pdf, 78.7 Kb) or access the white paper on GroupM Search's blog
SearchFuel and from the associated press release:
GroupM Search predict increase in cost-per-click with Yahoo and Microsoft