In a recent BusinessWeek article, Google and Yahoo we’re compared. More specifically Yahoo’s Panama project was compared to Googles recent innovations. According to the article:

Using data on total search queries, released by comScore, Caris & Co. analyst Tim Boyd estimates that Yahoo made on average between 10¢ and 11¢ per search in 2006, bringing in a total of $1.61 billion for the first nine months of the year. Google, meanwhile, makes between 19¢ and 21¢ per search. As a result, it made an estimated $4.99 billion during the same period.

This is incredible data (even if extrapolated), directionally it means Google is approx 200% better at monetizing search queries vs. Yahoo. The ironic part is, Yahoo! has more experience at this game, and the scenarios imho should be flipped. Let’s see who wins in the end, or who acquires Yahoo! first – Microsoft, or a Media Giant like ClearChannel.