Updated analysis as of 12/10/09
Having submitted the sitemap files on 12/3/09, we were hoping to see some changes reasonably quickly in the indexing.  Without much additional linking – only because it hasn’t started yet – the numbers do look improved after just 1 week.
Indexing Counts (Site saturation) 12/10/09

Google (258) +22
Yahoo (4) +2
Bing (23) +22

Original Post
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Yahoo is currently working on a new application that may automate SEO for the search engine. A patent was filed in January explaining the new system for automated SEO. This system would analyze search terms queried by users and whittle searches down to popular keyword sets that are long-tailed and more specific. The search engine [...]

As promised Yahoo has now started changing it minimum bids on keywords within customers PPC accounts. They have said that the minimum bid changes were to improve the experience of their customers but in their explanation they compared it to an auction house setting minimum bids on items to insure that someone did not walk [...]

Yahoo has been switching users over to the new Panama Version since the 4th Quarter of 2006. I have had the pleasure of working with the new Panama Version of Yahoo since November 2006. While not everything is as user-friendly as I would like, it is a great improvement over the older version.

Yahoo opens support for “NOYDIR” value in the Meta Robots tag. Allows webmasters and site owners to opt-out of having their Yahoo! Directory title and description shown in Yahoo search results.

Google let’s you see more links using Webmaster Tools, while Yahoo announces it’s “Pipes” product.

Sitemap standard announced. Google, MSN and Yahoo to use the same sitemap protocol.