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Microsoft and Yahoo almost got married last year. Called off at the altar. They’re back together but this time it’s an open relationship…for 10 years.

Some quick thoughts, on the deal’s impact on the search landscape (business deal notwithstanding):

1. The deal validates Bing. If Bing wasn’t successful and wasn’t retaining users, this deal wouldn’t have happened. As it stands, Microsoft will retain 12% of all search related revenue.

2. It accelerates Bing’s shot at critical mass. If you think you haven’t used “Yahoo” in years, you’re most likely mistaken - the list of Yahoo properties envelops a commanding reach (flickr, del.icio.us, finance, autos, news, music, answers…)

3. Yahoo’s sales staff is experienced and can undoubtedly monetize premium ’search advertising’ dollars better than Microsoft can — Google reportedly makes 75% of all search ad $’s, despite only having 66% of the search market share.

The collaboration is still fraught with risk, and has a lot of hoops to jump through to be successful - but it does give both companies a shot to swing for the home-run (fence emblazoned with the Google logo, of course).

Real Choice. Better Value. More Innovation. Still Conveyed with Cheesy stock images.