Same Ads on Different Search Engines

Example


Searched for "Flights to Amsterdam" on Yahoo, Bing and Google. The results are displayed in the screenshots below:

Bing:

Yahoo:

Google:

Analysis

As you can see the first few search results (advertisements) and the specific ads on the right sides match each other in almost all the cases. Google seems to be the only exception as it differs in order and content as it has one ad less on the main result section but many more on the side.
In all cases the advertisement section is highlighted by either a different toned background or just a significant format which makes the results stand out. This section is more likely when searching for a product than for something that cant be sold (a piece of information for example). These results are known as sponsored results.

Bing and Yahoo have the exact same advertisements displayed which means that they are either using the same software or have some kind of similar contract going on with the advertisement part of their search engines. 

Why?

The sponsored link is the part of every known search engine where an organization has paid the search engine to display their links every time a specific keyword is being typed into the engine. The business then has to pay the search engine for every time someone has clicked on their link. 

That is why I find it hard to conclude that organizations approached all three search engines and signed the exact same contracts with them as it would be almost impossible from a competitive point of view. I can only state that the most possible explanation for this is the platform that is used by the search engines. It has to be based on the same system which allows the possibility to have a contract with maybe not one of the engine companies but something like a union. This might also explain why Google has slightly different results as it is known as the most used search engine and seems like a more attractive point of advertisement. Companies approach Google individually in order to have their websites displayed as a result. 

Conclusion

Yahoo and Bing use the same platforms for their search results which allows companies to maintain contracts with something like a search engine union. Google however is more popular and able to sign individual contracts which explain the slightly different results.

However sponsored links are not recommended to be used as an actual source as they are just another form of advertisement.