Search Engine Land
  • SEO
    • > All SEO
    • > What Is SEO?
    • > SEO Periodic Table
    • > Google: SEO
    • > Bing SEO
    • > Google Algorithm Updates
  • PPC
    • > All PPC
    • > What is PPC?
    • > Google Ads
    • > Microsoft Ads
    • > The Periodic Tables of PPC
  • Focuses
    • > Local
    • > Commerce
    • > Shopify SEO Guide
    • > Content
    • > Email Marketing Periodic Table
    • > Social Media Marketing
    • > Analytics
    • > Search Engine Land Awards
    • > All Focuses
  • SMX
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • About
    • > About Search Engine Land
    • > Newsletter
    • > Third Door Media
    • > Advertise

Processing...Please wait.

Search Engine Land » Channel » SEO » Yahoo Extends Microsoft Search Deal & Revenue Guarantees

Yahoo Extends Microsoft Search Deal & Revenue Guarantees

Yahoo is giving Microsoft a further chance to prove that its search ads really can make Yahoo as much money as promised — at a price. Microsoft has agreed to extend “search revenue guarantees” that it has continually paid since the two companies signed a deal in 2009. Yahoo Declares An Extension Reuters spotted the […]

Danny Sullivan on May 7, 2013 at 1:14 pm

microsoft-yahoo-logosYahoo is giving Microsoft a further chance to prove that its search ads really can make Yahoo as much money as promised — at a price. Microsoft has agreed to extend “search revenue guarantees” that it has continually paid since the two companies signed a deal in 2009.

Yahoo Declares An Extension

Reuters spotted the extension as part of Yahoo’s latest quarterly financial filing:

On April 30, 2013, Microsoft extended the RPS Guarantee in the U.S. for an additional 12 months commencing April 1, 2013.

Second Time Guarantee Extended

To translate into plain language, when Yahoo & Microsoft signed a search deal in 2009, Microsoft promised that Yahoo would earn a set amount of money for each search that happens, a “revenue per search” or RPS. If this didn’t happen, Microsoft agreed to make up the difference, what’s called the RPS guarantee.

Microsoft has failed to deliver the expected RPS ever since the deal was signed. It was originally set to expire 18 months after the “paid search transition” from Yahoo to Microsoft had been deemed concluded. But in the fourth quarter of 2011, Microsoft agreed to extend the guarantee through March 31, 2013.

My past story explains more about all this, in depth: As The Yahoo-Microsoft Search Alliance Falls Short, Could A Yahoo-Google Deal Emerge?

That leads to today’s news, that Microsoft has extended the guarantee now a second time, taking it out through March 31, 2014.

Why? Quite simple. If Microsoft can’t deliver, Yahoo potentially can walk away from the deal and go to someone else … like Google.

Will Yahoo Go Google In 2014?

The date to watch is March 31, 2014. If Microsoft fails to deliver for a third time on RPS, Yahoo potentially could abandon the ten year deal. For more on that, see our two related posts:

  • Why Yahoo Will Never Reach The “Revenue Per Search” That Microsoft Promised
  • Even If Yahoo Wants To Leave Microsoft, Here’s Why It Can’t

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


New on Search Engine Land

    Webinar: Transform your content operations with DAM

    Lucid visibility: How a publisher broke into Google Discover in less than 30 days from launch

    We’ve crawled the web for 32 years: What’s changed?

    GA4 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. What would it look like to switch?

    What to look for in a technical SEO audit

About The Author

Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Topics

BingSEO

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Learn actionable search marketing tactics that can help you drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 15-16, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover time-saving technologies and actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges.

Start Discovering Now: Spring (virtual)

September 28-29, 2022: Fall (virtual)

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

Webinars

Data-Driven Answers to Achieve Omnichannel Success

Is Your Marketing Stack Ready for Omnichannel CX?

Outrank in Organic Search with These 5 Core Tactics

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily search news and analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • SEO
  • PPC

Our Events

  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX
  • MarTech

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.