Summary My column for Search Engine Watch this month, Pimp My Vertical Search, takes a look at some of the directions being taken in vertical search, particularly in autos. Autobytel has begun to do some interesting things with its recently…
Web exec Bill Day, who formerly led WhenU (a behavioral targeting firm), About.com and Prodigy, was announced yesterday as Marchex’s new chief media officer (an interesting title). The position is a new one for the publicly owned company, which isn’t…
Yellow Pages Group CEO Marc Tellier offered some more color on his company's plans to roll out value-based pricing (VBP). According to Tellier, the company should roll out the new pricing approach by 2009 or 2010. One key to value-based…
Idearc Media released its first-half financial results this morning. The company emphasized that "multi-product" sales, combining print, online and other, were about flat. Idearc is maintaining full-year guidance for 2007 – revenues will come in “close to flat” with slight…
Another directory publishing asset has changed hands, with one investor cashing out handsomely and another coming in hoping to make a killing. This time the buyer is Babcock & Brown, an Australian private equity firm that is focused on media…
On today's second-quarter earnings call, R.H. Donnelley executives revealed that the ripple effect of the housing slump has affected growth in its Embarq markets, which have been among the most stable in recent years. Fortunately for RHD, improvements in Chicago…
OK. Here is the truth. As an analyst, you become quite the connoisseur of hockey stick graphs. “I do like the way the chartreuse in the bar chart plays off the light and complements your logo.” I heard that in…
This just in. Directory publisher R.H. Donnelley has acquired Business.com, a B2B-oriented search engine and ad network that was acquired by Earthlink founder Sky Dayton for US$7.5 million in 1999. The acquisition was announced today, just before RHD's second-quarter earnings…
Paul Levine has resigned his position as GM of Yahoo! Local to take the VP of marketing slot at AdBright, a Sequoia Capital backed ad marketplace. Jennifer Dulski will be taking over local responsibilities as group vice president and general manager,…
Social networking has become and will continue to be one of the hottest trends on the Internet. The goal of social networks is to connect like-minded people based on their interests and often on their needs. In some cases social…
Idearc's Superpages has launched a beta version of a video advertising product, the company announced today. Here is a copy of the announcement. Video has quickly emerged as an essential element for a fully functional local online product, even if…
Yell Group's U.S. division, Yellow Book, has named Pat Marshall to the newly created post of "chief new media officer." Marshall's job in a nutshell will be to bring Yellow Book and its IYP, www.yellowbook.com, into a leadership position online.…
I just finished listening to the replay of Eniro's second-quarter earnings call. A lot was covered on the call, and I will write up a detailed brief for TKR clients early next week. Eniro recorded total group revenues of SEK2.93 billion…
Local.com will get wide distribution among small newspapers via its $2 million acquisition of PremierGuide, which provides local search services to 350 sites, including the twin powers of CNHI and Gatehouse. It also gets into The Washington Post and a…
Earlier this week Yellowpages.com officially launched a new and improved site (which had been in beta for some time), expanding further on a look launched late last year. The new version aims to enhance the overall visual appeal and, more…
A day many thought would never arrive has come. Valley Yellow Pages, led by noted online skeptic Sieg Fischer, has launched an online Yellow Pages directory, dubbed myyp.com. The company used technology vendor Information Pages to build the online directory,…
Yesterday, Idearc Media and Jingle Networks announced a partnership that counters AT&T's foray into the free DA business with its 1-800-YellowPages product. According to yesterday's announcement, Idearc's performance-based advertisers will receive additional exposure to buyers via Jingle's 1-800-FREE411 service. It…
White Directory Publishers was an early online innovator among U.S. independent directory publishers. In recent years the company has been relatively quiet on the digital front as it focused more on expanding its print footprint. Given the progression in the…
Starting this fall, Idearc Media’s Superpages may be accessed via instant messaging as a result of a new relationship with Multiplied Media, the Calgary-based provider of Poynt, a local search service that operates over IM. Multiplied Media was formerly known…
Following in the footsteps of Jingle Nets’ 1-800-Free411 (and failed services, like inFreeDA), Verizon LiveSource has launched a trial of a free DA service in Boston and Denver. The ad-supported service boasts the catchy number: 800-THE-INFO. It uses Call Genie's…
