Verizon SuperPages.com has signed an agreement with Google whereby its vast sales force will resell advertising in print and online to Verizon's large pool of small to mid-sized businesses. The deal
essentially marries Google's massive advertising network with Verizon's ability to sell advertising directly to its nationwide clients, something Google and other big Internet companies don't have the
resources to do. It also leverages Verizon's close, long-standing relationship with its small-business clients. Kelsey Group managing editor Greg Sterling said these kinds of moves are "critical to
moving the local search market forward" because local businesses, who tend to know nothing or very little about search engine marketing, now have an in-road to the world's largest search network.
These are absolutely the kind of deals local search providers like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask need to be striking with yellow pages providers to get more small-business advertisers on board. The
majority of local search dollars still come from large national brand advertisers, and Sterling and others have often noted how local advertisers need a lot of hand holding when it comes to spending
advertising-something the major networks can't provide. Of course, yellow pages companies worry these kinds of deals could cannibalize on their Web site revenue; but if this deal proves lucrative for
Verizon, other interactive yellow pages providers are sure to follow suit.
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