Google is following the Yellow Page road by soliciting “Business Referral Representatives”, in an effort to put feet on the ground in the local business marketing sector.

At $10.00 for each approved referral, Google won’t be on the same playing field a Yellow Page Publishers who can afford to be enormous fees of 30-50% to their sales reps for renewal or new customers. But it is a start and sure to get the attention of Idearc and AT&T.

Print Yellow Pages™ advertising is still the choice for a majority of small businesses mainly due to the relationships built up over time with local yellow page sales reps.

Internet ad spending is expected to hit $61.98 billion and surpass newspapers to become the leading ad medium in the US by 2011, according to Online Media Daily’s review of a report by private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

More highlights from the report:

* Ad spending on pure-play Internet sites reached $15.1 billion for 2006, and is projected to hit $34.78 billion in 2011, for a CAGR of 18.2%.

* Growth of 25.79% is projected for ad spending on traditional media-based Internet sites, which hit $8.585 billion in 2006, and is projected to reach $27.2 billion in 2011.

* National Internet advertising, which includes search, display, sponsorships, etc., is projected to remain the dominant dollar-generator with $38.897 billion forecast for 2011, representing an 18.2% CAGR from 2006-2011.

* Blog, podcast and RSS advertising is projected to reach $1.138 billion by 2011, registering the fastest growth rate at a 70.9% CAGR forecast from 2006-2011.

82% of online local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase according to a recent survey by TMP and Comscore.

Search Engine Land has more on the findings.

Peter Nowak’s peripheral vision is second to none when it comes to the future of the wireless sector in Canada. In his National Post article, Peter reports on the latest attempt by Google to expand their service offerings into wireless in the US next year. Canada would be next on their list.

While most experts are discussing Rogers and BCE, Mr. Nowak recognizes the threat from stealth competitors.

Add Mr. Nowak to your Google alerts and pay attention. When Google gets into the wireless system, they will be delivering mobile advertising. Small businesse should be prepared sooner than later.