With Yahoo on the Ropes, Who will challenge Google as online search continues to grow and also move into the new web 3.0 frontiers, mobile, messaging, video? And where will the online marketing environment shake out in 2008/2009?

Google is the clear winner from the whole Yahoo/MSN non-deal. With the end of takeover talks, Yahoo now finds itself needing to prove what its vision for the future is. Profits are flat this year after two years of declines, and although Microsoft has walked away from a $47.5 billion buyout bid, they are still hungry to take over the company and will be back.

Yahoo is now coming to Google to serve some of the search listing ads, as a good temporary opportunity to make money. This buys them some time perhaps, but still doesn’t stem the tide of Goggle advancing march forward. "If part of Yahoo’s mission is to become a one-stop shop for people looking to buy all types of online ads, then outsourcing search … seems like a step backwards," analyst Derek Brown at Cantor Fitzgerald said. Where Google is today: Google last month reported 42 percent revenue growth in the first quarter, and shares spiked 3.9% off the news of Yahoo fallout.

How does this relate to Search Marketing and Sponsored-Link advertising? Well, image an environment where adding Yahoo search to your campaign is as easy as clicking a button in your Adwords interface. That will make using Yahoo a viable addition to your campaign, and for less money as Yahoo generally converts at a cheaper cost. There could be a great benefit for those online advertisers, taking advantage of relatively under-priced ads. One of the big fears is the growing hegemony of Google. Monopolies usually translate to higher costs and less services for consumers. With Yahoo and Microsoft essentially failing to grow in the marketplace, Google is more and more the one-stop shop.

Advice: Take advantage of the Google/Yahoo advertising partnerships as they arise. That might mean more effective and cheaper PPC campaigns. Keep a keen eye on Google as they increasingly lead the online search and advertising movement. Invest in Search Engine Optimization, to insulate you from these advertising giants and their increasing costs!