Search engine giant Yahoo! has release a statement saying its archrival Google will start selling some ads on its websites and mobile services.
“We recently signed a global, non-exclusive agreement with Google to display ads on various Yahoo! properties and certain co-branded sites using Google’s AdSense for Content and Google’s AdMob services,’ announced Yahoo! on its blog.
Yahoo! says the partnership will enable it to expand its network and to offer users more meaningful ads.
For users of Yahoo!, there will not be any visible change on how the ads appear, just greater flexibility.
“There won’t be a noticeable difference in how or where ads appear. More options simply mean greater flexibility. We look forward to working with all of our contextual ads partners to ensure we’re delivering the right ad to the right user at the right time,” the company said.
Analysts are not surprised by the development, considering Yahoo! boss Marissa Mayer ran Google’s search department for years.
It is not the first deal between the two companies as a cooperative advertising pact was signed back in 2008, attracting criticism as a result of antitrust concerns.
The partnership will, however, raise questions about the 2009 Microsoft-Yahoo! deal for search advertising, which was believed to include multiple exclusivity agreements and which was meant to counter Google’s dominance in the market.
