It’s a deal! Finally the two search giants have reached a deal in which Yahoo’s search results will be powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engines and Yahoo will continue to sell search ads on its own sites as well as on Microsoft sites. This is a 10-year partnership in which both companies feel will create more innovation in search.

Microsoft will pay Yahoo 88% of the revenue it gains on searches on Yahoo sites, according to MSN Money Central. Microsoft will also have the rights to integrate Yahoo Search technology into its own existing search platforms. Yahoo claims that this deal will increase their operating income by $500 million annually.

Both companies released a joint statement saying “advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70% of all search.” They, of course, were referring to Google.

It will be interesting to see what this means for search in the future. One thing is for sure, if you are like me, you are just glad that this 18-month deal in the making is finally reached. No more speculation, it’s a done deal. Now, what’s next?  Will Microsoft and Yahoo’s partnership affect Google?  We’ll have to see.