Recruiting an army of small business sales reps...

Google and Verizon SuperPages.com have signed a deal under which the classified ad provider will help its tens of thousands of marketers get ads onto Google search result pages, the companies said on Monday.

Google said in a statement: "We're pleased Verizon is an authorised AdWords reseller and helping local small businesses take advantage of the opportunities of search advertising."

Verizon SuperPages.com sends sales representatives out to businesses to sell them advertising that will appear in print and online, something Google and other big internet companies don't have the resources to do, Eric Chandler, president of the internet division at Verizon SuperPages.com, said in a keynote at The Kelsey Group Drilling Down on Local conference in California.

The new arrangement "marries our sales channel opportunities with Google's vast advertising network," Chandler said in an interview after the session. "We play a key role in this whole ecosystem. We are the enablers to get this group [small merchants] online."

SuperPages.com already provides business profiles to Google so that some search results include links to more information about particular businesses on SuperPages.com, Chandler said.


Full article: silicon.com