Yahoo Replaces Google as Mozilla Search Partner

After six years of generating close to 90 percent of its revenue from referring Firefox browser users to search using Google, Mozilla announced today it is partnering with Yahoo instead.

Mozilla and Google had continued their relationship despite the fact that Google’s Chrome competed directly with Firefox and surpassed its traffic in 2011. The latest three-year deal had Google paying Mozilla some $300 million per year.

Choosing Yahoo was about “choice and independence,” said Mozilla CEO Chris Beard. He noted Firefox users search the Web more than 100 billion times per year.

The Yahoo deal lasts for five years, and in a blog post Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer called it “the most significant partnership for Yahoo in five years.”

The search integration launches in December for Firefox users in the U.S.

Firefox, which celebrated its 10th birthday last week, has had Google as its default search engine since 2004. Mayer, of course, is a former Google executive.

Google has not returned a request for comment.

According to w3schools, Chrome is now the most-used browser in the world, with 60.4 percent market share. Firefox is No. 2 with 23.4 percent and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has 9.5 percent.

Mozilla also said Yandex would become the new default for Firefox in Russia, and Baidu will continue to be the partner in China.