Will Yahoo’s Partnership With Google Be Their 2nd Coming?

This week Yahoo announced in their Third Quarter 2015 Results Report their new partnership with Google. This partnership allows Yahoo to display Google’s search results and ads in their search engine.

Is this Yahoo’s 2nd Coming?

This isn’t the first time Yahoo has formed a relationship with other search engine providers. Back in 2010 Yahoo made a similar deal with Microsoft. At that time, Yahoo stopped using its own internal search technology and relied totally on Microsoft for search engine results and ads. The deal didn’t get the results Yahoo was hoping for and they slid from the number 2 spot in search engines to number 3.

The New Yahoo and Google Partnership In Layman’s Terms

This new partnership with Google means that Yahoo will now have the ability to use search results and ads from Google and Bing, plus its own newly created internal search technology. Sounds like Yahoo is getting the best of both worlds, or search engines in this case!

What About Anti-Trust Issues

If you are thinking that this sounds like an awfully big conglomerate of search engines companies, then you would be correct, which is why none of us should get too comfortable with it just yet.

It is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice in regards to anti-trust issues, which squashed an earlier attempt of the partnership between the two giants years ago. However, Yahoo’s decline may help move it past the DOJ this go around. If you like legal jargon then you can read the official Form 8K Yahoo filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

You may notice that Europe is missing from the lineup of countries outlined in the deal and that is because Google is already having some anti-trust “issues” there which, while not included in the deal, may still affect its ultimate outcome here in the US.

What This Deal Could Mean for Yahoo

If the deal makes it through the legal mine fields, then Yahoo stands to gain quite a bit throughout the three-year deal.

• A percentage of Google’s ad revenue.
• More users turning/returning to them for search.
• Moving back up in ranks from 3rd to 2nd in search engines

Earlier in month I wrote about the “Big Four” and how the “Big Three” is no longer the “Big Three” and Yahoo didn’t even make the “Big Four” cut. This deal could move them to a more secure spot, which means additional revenue for Yahoo, more search options for consumers and a revised blog post for me.

What This Could Mean For Local SEO and Businesses

With more customers returning to Yahoo for search results, and with the organic results being displayed coming from Google, Bing and Yahoo, I believe that it will be more important than ever for all businesses, small and large to have SEO optimized websites and verified, optimized Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), and Bing Places listings. As always, managing the local presence for businesses needs to be a top priority.

What Happens Now

For now the partnership is intact and effective this month, pending an SEC ruling. We will all have to just wait and see what’s next for Yahoo.

Don’t count them out of the search engine game just yet!