Earlier this week Google and Verizon SuperPages.com came together and signed a deal under which Verizon (aka the classified ad provider) will help its tens of thousands of marketers get ads onto the Google search result pages. Verizon SuperPages.com is now an authorized Google Adwords reseller and will now be helping small businesses take advantage of the many opportunities that Google provides.

This is actually a great thing for search... specifically local search. 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. This new arrangement "marries" Verizon's sales channel opportunities with Google's vast advertising network allowing Verizon an opportunity to play a key role with getting small merchants online.

Search engines have plenty to offer the small-business market and deals such as this are critical to move the local search market forward. I don't see small businesses going on their own to Google or Yahoo! anytime soon, so it's nice to see an authoritative source bring Search Engine Marketing services and resources to small businesses.

The Google deal also gives Verizon SuperPages.com advertisers an opportunity to appear in AOL's, Ask's (formerly Ask Jeeves), and other partner search engine's search results through their deals with Google. Not a bad arrangement for small-business marketing if you ask me!