Yahoo! and Bing have long occupied the second and third slots behind search engine giant Google. And because Google commands an enormous market share, a merger between the two smaller entities appeared inevitable to many industry observers. Now that U.S. and European regulators have approved the deal, the Yahoo! and Bing are indeed combining their technologies into one, robust search engine.

For Yahoo!, the decision was easy. They project the merger will help them attract 60% more users,  a population of roughly 150 million. Initially, there won’t be significant changes to the interface and results of either search engine, though the collaboration will likely improve them both. Yahoo! possesses high-end search technology and Bing has the backing of Microsoft’s impressive lineup of products, meaning their improved versions may very well be able to challenge Google’s 60-70% market share.

The merger also makes sense from a financial perspective, considering Microsoft and Yahoo! have been spending billions to improve their search engines. Working as a team, they’ll be able to get more bang for their buck and begin to rival Google’s significant operating budget. Microsoft has never been afraid to pour money into their primary products and the decision to join up with Yahoo! proves that they are committed to taking on Google long-term.

Of course, it’s too early to know how effective the merger will be. Will Yahoo’s predictions of a 60% boost come true? Perhaps, though those figures seem overly optimistic. Regardless, both search engines will benefit from the arrangement and their users will benefit as well. Google’s market share has already faltered in the early stages of 2010 and it looks like this is as good a time as any to make a move on the reigning champ.