Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, will provide the search results for Yahoo! enabling Microsoft to have the best chance at taking down industry-giant, Google.  The transition in the search results is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Yahoo! is certainly struggling with only 15% of the search market in their grasp.  With Bing improving the most of late, this percentage could drop even more.  While Bing and Yahoo! are still in the midst of a merger that will combine the efforts of both brands to overtake Google, Yahoo! brass still want their brand to be a powerful entity by itself as these improvements show.

A U.S. District Court dismissed a lawsuit against Yahoo! by a woman who sued the search engine for search results associated with her name.  Beverly Stayart claimed that Yahoo! purposely linked her name to pornographic websites and erectile dysfunction drugs. The court dismissed the case, ruling that Yahoo! was protected under the Communications Decency Act.

Stayart filed her case in February and accused Yahoo! of various trademark violations, claiming that she is the only Beverly Stayart on the Internet. Those allegations failed because if there has ever been a person with her same name, Stayart would have a major problem proving the links were associated with her. Judge Rudolf Randa addressed this by saying: “No one who accessed these links could reasonably conclude that Bev Stayart endorsed the products at issue.”

Vanity search or egosurfing is a popular process referring to web users exploring the results of their own name on a search engine. This case shows that while a user may be unhappy with websites that result from a search of their name, little can be done due to the likelihood of someone sharing a same name. In sum, this case sets a precedent that will likely prevent copycat lawsuits from springing up across the country, sapping search engine time and resources.

Last month’s Microsoft/Yahoo! deal continues to draw attention throughout the search community. The market share of Microsoft’s Bing.com has continued to increase slightly since its June launch, but it is still a far cry from Google’s dominant stance in the industry. It is hard to argue that the deal is not affecting Google; the company has unveiled an update to its search platform. Experts see it as a response to the move, but Google denies such claims stating that the update had been in the works for awhile.

Perhaps the greatest challenge that Bing faces in its fight against Google is search loyalty. Google has simply become a habit for users over time, with most giving little thought to a potential switch. Gord Hotchkiss, CEO of Enquiro Search Solutions, said “For Microsoft-Yahoo to disrupt the Google habit, they have to offer a compelling enough reason to do the cognitive heavy lifting required to break a subconscious habit.” Bing will need to change its casual users into faithful ones.

Microsoft and Yahoo! may also be confronted with antitrust issues as a result of their agreement. The question posed by the partnership is whether or not online advertisers will benefit more with a single, more powerful rival to Google when compared to two less threatening foes. It will be challenging for regulators to make a case due to the fact that the number two and three competitors are joining forces (as opposed to the top two in a market). Legal officials are not expected to complete a review until 2010.

While nothing has changed dramatically since the agreement, competition among search engines is sure to remain strong.

A major reason tech experts assume Apple is launching search is due to a struggle to obtain a search function on the iPhone. A unique search engine would fit hand-in-hand with Apple’s Safari web browser. Apple may have missed out on an opportunity now that Microsoft and Yahoo! have negotiated a search deal, but the introduction of a new search tool could bring a third party into the race for search superiority.

A change could take users away from Google, which is currently the default search tool for Safari. Many Apple fans would make the switch, which could account for up to five percent of the search market, along with all iPhone users.

Despite the potential gains, Apple Search remains a rumor, as there is little proof of the company organizing a search program. Another possibility is a search engine with results powered by Google. A partnership could make sense. Google already pays Apple from earnings through Safari, and Apple could also use help in advertising.

While Apple does want to improve the search options for devices like the iPhone, the introduction of a full-fledged search engine seems unlikely at the moment. However, the possibility of a search partnership with Google is interesting, potentially giving Google an ally in its battle with Bing and Yahoo! while also certainly brining up antitrust whispers.

After three years of talks, Microsoft and Yahoo! have reached an agreement regarding online search. The ten-year deal gives Microsoft rights to Yahoo!’s search technology, while in return Yahoo! receives 88 percent commission from advertisements. Yahoo!, the number two search engine, and Bing, number three, are hoping to compile resources to take on Google. A main effect of the deal is that Yahoo!’s natural and paid search results will now be powered by Microsoft’s Bing.

The deal will triple Bing.com’s market share to nearly 30 percent. However, the battery still has a long way to go in the search battle, as Google’s share of the market rests at 65 percent. The deal has not been as kind to Yahoo!, as its stock has dropped 16 percent as of Thursday afternoon. Microsoft hopes that Yahoo!’s advertising ideas will attract users to Bing, while Yahoo! hopes to add features to its site that will allow it to compete with more socially-oriented websites such as Facebook.

One potential hang-up is that antitrust allegations are already swirling. Google previously ran into problems when trying to reach a deal with Yahoo!. However, there is a better chance that the Microsoft/Yahoo! partnership will be upheld because it could likely increase competition with Google.

Advertisers long to benefit from viable competition with Google. “It is good for our clients and our agencies and for regulators,” said Martin Sorrell, a chief executive of British advertising group WPP. The merger could level the field if advertisers draw more traffic through the Microsoft/Yahoo! collaboration.

This massive change in the search engine world could certainly benefit users, as each side will continually have incentive to improve. However, others are less optimistic and predict the deal will have little impact.

The media’s continued attention on the battle between Microsoft’s Bing.com and Google has somewhat pushed Yahoo! out of the picture. Downfall in revenue has forced Yahoo!, former number one search site, to resort to pink slipping workers. However, news has improved for Yahoo! of late, as the search engine released a new home page on Tuesday.

The new page features links to several popular third-party sites including Facebook and eBay. Users can see headlines from such sites by simply moving the cursor over a toolbar titled “My Favorites” on the left side of the page. Yahoo! has also introduced a “trend-setter” box that highlights the popular searches of the day. Some experts feel the move is an attempt to attract Microsoft back into talks regarding a search advertising deal.

Negotiations have been intermittent for months, with each party hoping that teaming up could give Google considerable competition. According to reports, talks are closer than ever, with Microsoft executives meeting with Yahoo! in California. In the deal, Microsoft would reportedly pay for several billion dollars worth of Yahoo!’s search advertising business. Despite this recent news, the tide can turn quickly: Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz once said that the search company would “be better off if we had never heard the word Microsoft.”

It is hard to deny that a deal would certainly bring more competition to Google. Users can only hope that such a battle will bring consistent improvement throughout the search realm.

Yahoo! has teamed up with AdReady to form a new advertising system designed to give customers more control in the process of promoting business online. The program, My Display Ads, is shaped for small businesses that cannot necessarily afford extensive advertising. Google introduced a similar setup last year, but Yahoo! believes its system is more advanced.

Smaller companies tend to choose search advertising because they are able to select specific keywords relative to their business. The process is also relatively cheap. Yahoo! hopes to gain more customers through My Display Ads, as Google currently possesses 70 percent of the advertising market. Advertisers pay Yahoo! via pay-per-click.

In the new system, ad templates can be sorted by performance, use, and age. “With Yahoo! My Display Ads, we hope to make display as easy, effective and accessible as search,” said Aaron Finn, AdReady CEO.В  AdReady and Yahoo! launched a pilot program of the system last year which was only available to Yahoo! small business customers. Klaussnerhome, a small furniture business based in North Carolina, reported record sales after using the do-it-yourself ads.

With Google leading the way in nearly every search engine category, Yahoo! hopes that it can increase revenue by reaching out to small businesses and giving them more options in advertising.

Microsoft has introduced Bing, a new search engine that replaces its predecessor Live Search. With Google taking up most of the search engine market, Microsoft hopes that added features and a new name will make Bing a prominent search tool. While most of Microsoft’s search services previously came from MSN users, the company hopes that Bing will draw interest from all over the web.

While most reviews give Google a slight edge in search result content, Bing has a few features that make it unique. Perhaps the most useful is a small passage of text that appears as users scroll over results. This saves a lot of time as there is no longer a need to visit an entire web page to see if it has relevant information regarding the search topic. Bing also offers a related searches tab and a more user-friendly video search results page.

The emergence of Bing could push for innovation throughout the search engine realm as competition increases. Some users will switch to Bing, but Google is expected to remain at the front and center of the search engine world, as most people will not want to tolerate learning a new format.

Microsoft’s launching of Bing has again brought up talk of a possible Microsoft/Yahoo! merger down the road. The two giants would hope to team up in an effort to pool resources and bait users away from Google.

Bing brings new features to the search engine field and it could steal a small percentage of Google users. However, Bing will have to prove itself over a long term basis.