The first rule of search engine marketing is never say never. Indeed, many company executives do -- but Darren Clark, CTO at YP.com, isn't one of them. On Tuesday he announced the launch of ypSearch Marketplace, a keyword-bid local search marketplace that enables national brands to reach YP's 80 million monthly users across its network. The move turned a once old-time directory into a local, real-time marketplace.

Google is testing a search feature that enables users to chat live with businesses directly from the search results. The feature offers a live chat, known in the Google+ world as a Hangout, which works on desktop or mobile devices.