Search engines have become so proficient at attracting advertising that, oddly enough, even newspapers and yellow pages publishers are selling ads on their behalf in the small-business market, writes the New York Times. Seemingly, they are "cutting their own throats by passing those customers onto the search engines." Apparently, though, they are closely studying the search engines to figure out how to counter them - and making a little cash in the meantime. Local advertising is among the most important business opportunities left to be exploited online, according to the Kelsey Group, which reports that roughly six million small businesses spend about $30 billion on offline ads each year and are only now turning to online marketing.