Google, Yahoo reveal ad pact--in part

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google and Yahoo exposed parts of their recent deal that would allow Google to sell ads alongside Yahoo search results, Reuters reports. But what's interesting is what they didn't reveal.

The deal, which will go into effect once/if it passes regulatory muster, aims to let Yahoo focus on other aspects of its business while Google does the ad-sales heavy lifting. Currently, Google handles 70% of the online ad search market.

That much is known. But the SEC filing also shows that Google and Yahoo have other business plans in the works. For example, the filing says the two plan to enable their respective IM systems, Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk, to work together. But it also lists four other bullet points under "other business opportunities," all of which were "heavily redacted," Reuters says.

What could those "other business opportunities" be? And how closely intertwined will Google and Yahoo, the No. 1 and No. 2 search engines respectively, end up after it's all said and done? With the collapse of Carl Icahn's Yahoo board takeover attempt earlier this month, and Microsoft's failed buyout, Yahoo is probably feeling a bit stronger on the competitive front. But it remains to be seen whether its agreement with Google will enhance or deflate that standing.

As GoogleWatch's Clint Boulton says, it could work to both companies' advantage--but it also could leave Yahoo sputtering out on the order of another Google search ad partner--AOL. And that wouldn't be good for Google or Yahoo.