Along with all the buzz over mobile, there is also a lot of talk on search engine consolidation, as Search Engine Land revealed.

According to the Yellow Pages Association (YPA)’s President Neg Norton, this was spurred by recent whispers involving the Yahoo! and News Corp. deal, a potential integration with MySpace, and whether the talk is a real option or an attempt to force Microsoft to increase its offer for Yahoo.

Yahoo!, of course, is at the center of the consolidation discussion, as it tried to shop around for a solid partner. While there are obvious challenges to a Microsoft-Yahoo deal, including cultural, technological, and timing issues, Microsoft has the cash and the most vested interest in seeking a partner to increase their search scale and make inroads in the fight to give Google a real challenger, Neg Norton wrote. No matter who wins the Yahoo prize, however, success in local search will continue to be driven by three key elements: content, traffic, and technology.

But there are also certain contentious issues that come into play. For one, consolidation could create gaps in the market as the companies involved are likely to take their eyes off local search while dealing with integration issues. This would create an IYP market opportunity to continue to capitalize on their strength.

While the latest research shows that IYPs are gaining in their share of local commercial searches, traffic remains a challenge in comparison to search engines. With consolidation, IYPs will also be affected by distribution deals, in which IYP advertisers’ listings and content are placed on AOL, Google, MSN, and/or Microsoft and other search engines.

Today’s small, local businesses, which provide the greatest untapped opportunity for all local search players, are still challenged with their online media buys, Norton wrote. Yellow Pages publishers have taken on the role of trusted media consultant to help small businesses navigate the fragmented online media landscape by delivering a large volume of high quality local business leads through a variety of media print and Internet Yellow Pages and search engine marketing through the convenience of one organization.

It is difficult to say at this point who will prevail in the local search market, as there are so many players vying for the top spot. But the bottom line, as Norton noted, is that the days of Yahoo! as an independent are numbered.

It is hard to say who will be the ultimate winners in the overall local search market, but the bottom line is that Yahoo’s days as an independent are likely numbered. IYPs have an opportunity to capitalize on market consolidation by leveraging their strong local content and business databases, long-standing relationships with small businesses, and technology resources to deliver the most relevant local search results, he said.