Google finally gets into bed with Yahoo on ad deal

[The Feedster]

After months of the on-again, off-again mergertalks between Microsoft and Yahoo, during which doublespeak and obfuscationwere the order of the day, it’s refreshing to hear some straight talk aboutwhat Yahoo is actually up to.

That comes from Google, which today announced thatit will run its advertising on Yahoo’s US and Canadian websites.

IMclients too

AdSense for search and AdSense for content text andgraphical ads will now run alongside any other ads Yahoo places, while the twoparties are also working to make their IM clients, Google Talk and YahooMessenger, compatible with each other.

More importantly, the deal is not exclusive,meaning Yahoo is free to pursue other tie-ups as it wishes, something thatshould placate restless investors in the firm.

Plainspeaking

Equally pleasing is the forthright manner in whichGoogle explained the deal. Speaking on the Google Blog, Omid Kordestani, a seniorVP, said: "It is important to say what this agreement is not: This is not amerger."

Going on to clarify in minute detail, he said: "Thisdoes not remove a competitor from the playing field. This does not preventYahoo from making similar arrangements with others. This does not increaseGoogle's share of search traffic. This does not let Google raise prices foradvertisers."

So,Yahoo gets to appear proactive, Google gets a shot at more ad revenue andwebsite owners probably get a bigger slice of that money, but where does thatleave Microsoft?



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