'Net Features : yellow pages

Local.com Deal Making with AT&T

Administrator — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:30:00 GMT

Local.com extended their distribution agreement with AT&T Interactive today. Under the arrangement, AT&T Interactive’s YP.com ad listings will be given premier placement on Local.com search results.

“As a part of the YP Local Ad Network made up of over 300 publishers, Local.com supports our focus of helping advertisers grow their business. By extending our agreement, we are providing them access to one of the industry’s most comprehensive databases of local ads and localized content,” said Todd Rose, vice president of business development at AT&T Interactive.

“Combined with AT&T Interactive's reach across other popular media channels such as mobile and iPTV, we are giving advertisers the opportunity to increase their reach and drive leads to their business.”

Yahoo! New Local Ad Sales Force

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:30:00 GMT

AT&T Interactive and Yahoo yesterday announced an agreement under which AT&T’s 5,000 strong sales force will sell Yahoo! display inventory across the United States. The companies have existing relationships across a variety of industries including portal and mobile services as well as powering Yahoo! Local with advertiser content from YellowPages.com.

AT&T Interactive has existing relationships with many small businesses, many of which have created local online ad campaigns and Web presences around YellowPages.com. The agreement essentially enables those using AT&T Interactive to add Yahoo! display advertising to their marketing.

"Local businesses are looking to drive in-store traffic, and our alliance with AT&T Interactive will help them reach a local audience of highly-engaged potential customers on Yahoo!," said Jim Schinella, Senior Vice President, North America Region, Yahoo!. "As local businesses shift their advertising spend to reach the growing number of Internet consumers, AT&T Interactive and Yahoo! can equip them with the tools and expertise they need to be successful online."

Local Search is Booming (Thanks to Recommendations?)

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:04:00 GMT

There has been a surge of annual growth for local search, according to a study conducted by comScore released today by the Yellow Pages Association.

Local search grew 58 percent in 2008, reaching an annual total of 15.7 billion searches, the study shows. By comparison, overall U.S. Web core searches grew at a much smaller rate of 21 percent year-over-year, nearing 137 billion searches by the end of 2008. Local searches stand at 12 percent of core searches on the top 5 portals. Local is clearly becoming a focus of marketers looking to leverage every promotional opportunity available.

Some interesting statistics from the study reinforce this:

75 percent of the top 100 keywords searched on Internet Yellow Pages sites were non-branded, indicating that a majority of consumers have not decided on a specific company or product brand when they begin their search.

Nearly half (45 percent) of Internet Yellow Pages and local online directory searchers made an online purchase in the fourth quarter of 2008.

But what exactly precipitates these local searches?

A recent survey conducted by Buzfactor might provide some answers. The survey found that a recommendation has 15 times more influence on where a person shops and dines than advertising. Buzfactor also found that customers recommend their favorite local businesses as many as 27 times per year and, with recommendations likely being acted upon 71.2% of the time, each customer evangelist a business has potentially generates 19 new customers for the business. Most important, according to Buzfactor, is the edge that local businesses have over national chains. The survey showed that 86% of consumers said the businesses they most often recommend are local.

Internet YP Ad Industry Just Got Interesting

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:46:00 GMT

AT&T Interactive and Idearc Media today announced that they have entered into a cross distribution agreement that will give YellowPages.com advertisers and SuperPages.com advertisers the opportunity to cross promote through online advertising placements on their leading local search websites. The two online properties will also share business profiles and other enhanced content from each other's advertisers.

"Cross distribution of advertisers across YellowPages.com and SuperPages.com creates even greater value for each company's advertisers," said David Krantz, president and CEO of AT&T Interactive. "Ad networks and distribution are critical elements for digital advertising. Extending our local search ad network through this agreement helps us to connect advertisers with more consumers."

No information was immediately presented on how advertisers will be presented (or on the actual revenue arrangement), but one could assume that for geographic areas where one company is weaker in ad listings than the other, each would tap the partner's database to present users with more listings.