Microsoft, Yahoo Renew Search Deal
Microsoft and Yahoo have renewed their 2009 search partnership with some amendments that give Yahoo more control over how search results are displayed on desktops and mobile devices. The 10-year search partnership allowed the companies to amend or terminate it after five years. Last month, the companies extended by 30 days the deadline to renegotiate the deal.
Earlier, Microsoft controlled how Bing displayed search results on Yahoo websites accessed on PCs. Microsoft will now own the ads delivered from its own Bing Ads platform.
Yahoo was responsible for sales for Bing search ads. Microsoft will now handle the relationships with advertisers for its Bing search service, instead of Yahoo.
Yahoo will continue to run the sales force for its Gemini ads platform.
Microsoft and Yahoo plan to transition sales responsibilities starting this summer.
Originally, the deal also included a revenue-sharing agreement where Microsoft paid Yahoo a percentage of Bing ads revenue delivered from Yahoo searches. This structure would remain intact, the companies said.
The amended agreement highlights the two companies’ limited success in competing with market leader Google Inc. in search. Google had 64 percent of the U.S. desktop search market in March, according to ComScore. Microsoft, which is based in Redmond,
The agreement leaves unchanged an arrangement in which Microsoft pays Yahoo a percentage of Bing ad revenue delivered from Yahoo searches.