All three search engines have their individual formulas and handle/look/score them differently. In fact Google for one looks at them extremely differently then MSN/Yahoo. It is challenging to rank well for all three and not throw a filter in one of them while doing well in the other(s).

Below is a general scorecard of the differences in Yahoo/MSN vs. Google. with regards to backlinks.

Age – is a huge underling factor for Google. They put major emphasis on it weigh links that are old and thus “trusted” much heavier then newly acquired links.
This is a huge reason sites that are currently in the top of competitive phrases in Google are hard to out rank.
Yahoo/MSN look at links on a much more even playing field. It is easier to over come well established older sites in Yahoo and MSN than it is in Google.

Repetition – Repetition of keywords in site structure is more likely to throw a filter in Google whereas MSN/Yahoo might not mind it or subsequently look at it as a good thing.

Link Juice – Ie. Link weight/ link relevancy might not be passed by all links in the eyes of Google. Google is generally smarter and more on top of defining a “untrustworthy link” then MSN or Yahoo thus MSN/Yahoo might count the link when Google ignores it.

Overall Google is tougher to rank in with younger, newer sites where MSN and Yahoo will respect a new site.

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