The IYP search market leader in the fourth quarter of 2007 was Yellowpages.com Network, which formed multiple partnerships with sites including Areaguides.net and 411.com, enabling them to be the leader in total IYP searches.

YellowPages Logo
(Photo Credit: YellowPages.com)

"In the highly competitive IYP search market, partnerships played a significant role in determining the 2007 landscape," said Serge Matta, senior vice president of comScore. "Yellowpages Network was one of the key beneficiaries of this strategy, since partnerships helped it secure a leading position in the market."

Yellowpages.com Network (20.2 percent share) just beat out Superpages.com Network (20.0 percent share) in Q4 2007 to take the top position in the IYP market. Superpages new partnerships helped to increase its search activity, with the new Local.com partnership and the Infospace FindIt/Switchboard purchase adding to its gains.

Superpages ended its affiliation with both 411.com and MSN Yellowpages, offsetting the positive impact of the new partnerships. Superpages saw an increased number of total searches in 2007, it did not grow as fast as the market, and as a result its share fell slightly.

Yellow Book Network more than doubled it share from 4 percent to nearly 9 percent, benefiting in part from its new relationship with Addresses.com. Microsoft Sites experienced an increase in IYP searches after it began redirecting searches to Microsoft Maps beginning in December. Microsoft Sites increased its search share from 3.8 percent in Q4 2006 to 4.8 percent in Q4 2007.

R.H. Donnelley, a regional local search provider among the top 8 U.S. IYP sites had a relatively modest national IYP search market share of 3.3 percent. Within their 14-state region, they actually led the market in Q4 2007 with a 22 percent market share.

Yellow Book Network and R.H. Donnelley saw traffic more than double, due to a combination of new relationships and organic visitor growth. R.H. Donnelley’s growth can be largely attributed to its purchase of Business.com.

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Previously, the primary component of user content on the site was limited to user ratings and reviews associated with business listings.

Some of the new features this recent upgrade added include allowing all users to enhance basic biz profile information, uploading pictures of organizations, wiki-like biz listing “blog” features which could allow simplistic blogging by businesses and/or could be used as a consumer comment or Q/A zone for each business since any user could submit info to them.

Of all the top online yellow pages and local search sites, I believe that Superpages may now have the distinction of having the greatest variety of Web 2.0 features. Out of Local.com, DexKnows, Yellowpages.com, YellowBook, Citysearch, and Google Maps — none of them have photos + ratings/reviews + “blogs” + user-provided profile data. Only Yahoo Local really approaches this number of user-content features, I believe. Out of all of the top IYP and local search sites, only Yahoo Local and Superpages openly invite any users to supply photos for locations — Google Maps only allows business owners and content partners to supply photos.

Now, I can see that they may still be working a few of the kinks out in these new services, and the display of this new content seems a little bit siloed or distanced from the business’s profile page, requiring a click to see it. But, I expect these are things which will evolve and expand as they get more content added in. There’s always something of a chicken-or-egg dilemma when adding new content like this to sites — stuff can look a little sad when there’s little content, but it’s hard to get content without making the features really visually apparent.

But, critique of the implementation aside, Superpages appears to be keeping a ahead of the game by striving to differentiate themselves from the competition in terms of these new user features, along with the robust data sources and diverse ad products they already had.

You may recall that Superpages recently brought their video ads out of beta release, and they also acquired Switchboard.com and announced plans to deploy local content through Microsoft Windows Live Messenger via a partnership with Multiplied Media. Just before that, Idearc acquired the LocalSearch.com domain name along with some portion of ownership of AmericanTowns.com (a company which has substantial local information sites and content).

There’s an arms race that’s been going on for quite some time in the local space wherein the yellow pages directory sites and local search engines have all been seeking to outpace each other by ramping up on product features and richness of data. With the recent flurry of multiple announcements and deployments of new functionality and distribution channels, you can see that Superpages is aggressively working to outpace the competition and make it challenging for others to match their suite of features. The programming for such stuff is relatively easy in some cases, but the logistics involved in managing quality issues can be expensive — you don’t want people adding malicious or obscene images to businesses, so it requires human auditing to keep the quality up.

I think these recent changes may begin to transform their info pages from being the traditional business profiles into something more like dynamic information clusters around businesses.

The strategy could be worth it in terms of driving user loyalty and in helping to differentiate from the competition. The interest and adoption of sites like Yelp.com have demonstrated that user communities can effectively be built around directory information sites, so user-generated content could be the next frontier for IYP, if it can be done in an affordable manner that doesn’t degrade quality.

Obviously, a prime motivating factor behind all this pumping of investment capital into Superpages.com is Idearc’s expectation that revenues on the legacy print side of the house may continue to decline. In the recent figures from Idearc’s third-quarter financials, Idearc’s stock took a heavy beating, in part because of a 3% fall in print revenue. Lehman Brothers analyst Anthony DiClemente stated:

“I think the concern from investors is that you are seeing the transition of the business to electronic from print faster than expected.”

Hmmm…. it sounds a bit like my theory that Google Trends could be indicating a pretty fast slump for traditional yellow pages usage might actually have some basis. But, I digress.

Idearc’s not taking the paradigm shift laying down — the cagey adoption of Web 2.0 hallmarks on top of the solidly-performing product will help them keep ahead in the local search game.

(Disclosure: I used to work for Idearc Superpages.com and you can reasonably consider that I might still hold stock and/or options from them. Despite this, I do try to write objectively about them and the local search industry in general. Heck, I’ve even been accused recently of being biased against yellow pages for stuff I write. Even so, I just want to state for the record that this article is an opinion piece by me with no intention of influencing stock prices, and you shouldn’t be basing stock purchase decisions on me anyway. After all, I’m *still* stinging a bit from my stock losses suffered during the dot-com bust!)

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Andrew Shane of Idearc told WebProNews that Idearc would be retaining the Switchboard.com domain name. The purchase of Switchboard.com and other InfoSpace directory assets will increase the scale of Idearc’s online directory platform, Superpages.com and benefit Idearc advertisers who will be seen by more consumers.

"This transaction is consistent with our strategy of driving revenue generation across multiple platforms," said Kathy Harless, President and CEO.

"With the addition of Switchboard.com and its associated networks, we are increasing the scale of our fast-growing local search platform, enabling our advertisers’ content to reach even more consumers and boosting our high-quality organic Internet traffic base."

InfoSpace, whose board approved the deal, operates metasearch site dogpile.com along with other search sites. The company said it plans to give proceeds of the sale to stockholders through cash distribution.

The deal is expected to be completed in the next 30 to 60 days.

"This acquisition is an excellent fit with our existing operations and creates a significant opportunity for us to monetize our local search inventory," said Harless.

"We are excited about the additional value and quality traffic this deal brings to our portfolio and the related value proposition to our advertisers."

The new application allows Facebook users to read restaurant, write reviews and allows others to see which restaurants are the users favorite places to dine.

"Both local search and social networking are hot, so it makes sense to combine the two," said Robyn Rose, vice president of marketing for Superpages.com.

"Superpages.com continues to connect circles of trusted individuals through robust local search capabilities. We are excited to enable Facebook users with access to Superpages.com restaurant reviews while they are engaged with their social network."

In 2006, Superpages.com had over 2.8 billion network searches and more than 18 million small-to-medium-sized business listings in the United States, 11 million which had enhanced content.

Superpages Serves Up BlackBerry Application

The app, called Superpages Mobile for BlackBerry, offers everything you’d expect, including movie info, business listings, mapping, weather, and a “People Finder.”  And the name – I’m betting you could have guessed the name.  Anyway, that feature list is fine, and measures up to a lot of the other contenders in the market.  There doesn’t seem to be any way in which the Superpages product stands out, though.

In fact, a writer at BerryReview.com states, “Personally I found that Beyond411 worked better every time and has GPS support but another free application cannot hurt.  The program could use a little bit of polish but works like a charm.”

That mixed performance may be good enough to grab a considerable market share, and the Superpages brand name won’t hurt anything.  In a press release put out by Idearc Media (the publisher of Superpages), Eric Chandler, the company’s “President – Internet,” reasoned, “Mobile users, especially those who travel frequently, increasingly want more local information no matter where they are.”

I’ll now thank any BlackBerry users who have stuck around to this point in the article.  I know it was a strain; you may now return to your machines.

"There is a clear trend in advertising as more consumers are willing to engage with videos online," said Eric Chandler, President – Internet for Idearc Media.

"Superpages video advertising allows small- to medium-sized local businesses the opportunity to tell their unique story in a new medium. These ‘documercials’ also let consumers take an up-close and personal look at a business before making a buying decision."

Superpages is trialing 30 and 60-second local business video advertising in Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Bay areas and has plans to add additional cities in the next few months.

Recent comScore video matrix rankings revealed that Americans viewed over 7 billion online videos during March of 2007.  With more consumers viewing videos online local video advertising is estimated to increase up to $5 billion annually in the next few years according to Borrell Associates.

The company’s founder Jason Galanis says lawsuits won’t always be necessary, but a payout will be. Galanis filed suit in a Texas federal court, where a judge ruled the case could go on to the discovery phase.

If successful, this case could be one of the most impacting search-related suits since Google had to hand over 2.7 million shares to Yahoo in 2004 (adding to Yahoo’s IPO grab of 5.5 million Google shares – an interesting tidbit all its own).

Does it have a snowball’s chance in patent suit hell? Not everyone’s sure. According to TechDirt’s Mike Masnick, there may be precedent to prevent it from proceeding.

"This is the type of patent that should be tossed out following the Supreme Court’s Teleflex ruling, but for now it’s wasting plenty of time and money….While the article notes that it may have been "new" to think about creating location-based search when the patent was filed, that doesn’t account for whether or not it was an obvious next-step."

The Teleflex ruling to which he refers requires patents to be put to an "obviousness test."

Remember, the critic was the only character killed in Lady in the Water.

SuperPages is tapping local fare aficionados for their expert opinion on what’s worth checking out and what’s not. To make up for not paying people, the company is offering top billing on its homepage as the featured Reviewer of the Week.

The more restaurants, hotels, garages, and shops they review, the higher the likelihood of being featured on the homepage. Consumers who submit the most reviews will also be highlighted when visitors search for their ZIP code. Before the new program launched, the company had 324,000 reviews.

“Local search is hot and so is social networking, so it makes sense that we combine the two,” said Robyn Rose, vice president of marketing for SuperPages.com.

“Whether you’re talking about finding the best Italian restaurant or a reliable plumber, SuperPages.com provides robust local search capabilities, along with ratings and user reviews, to connect circles of trusted individuals.”

They must be reading the same studies we’re reading. According to research firm ForeSee Results, sites offering customer product reviews have a competitive advantage over sites that don’t.

Their findings:

1. Almost half (49%) of online holiday shoppers that bought a product recalled seeing online customer product reviews

2. Customer product reviews drive satisfaction and loyalty and provide a competitive advantage for sites that offer them

3. Customer product reviews are a powerful influencer of the purchase decision for the critical group of first-time buyers

4. Customers on sites with reviews are 5% more satisfied with the retailer as a whole (not only the web experience) and their image of the retailer is 5% higher than customers on sites without customer product reviews.

5. Shoppers that visited sites with customer product reviews are 6% more likely to recommend the site than shoppers that went to sites without this feature.

6. Of holiday shoppers that bought from sites with reviews, 39% cited the customer product review as the primary factor that influenced the purchase.

7. This group’s satisfaction score is 21% above the average score of all survey respondents (score of 91 vs. 75). Higher satisfaction leads to loyalty, and purchasers citing reviews as the primary purchase influencer are significantly more likely to purchase from the retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise (score of 92 vs. 74).

8. Nearly half (42%) of first-time buyers on sites with customer product reviews cited the review as the primary factor influencing the buying decision

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Sharing MSN Live Local With Your Friends

Microsoft also expanded the Windows Live Local beta release to the UK and provided a limited version of it to Canada, the company announced.

New sharing features provided in this third release make it easier to provide localized knowledge to others. The Scratchpad feature has been updated to deliver more capabilities beyond its original functions.

Scratchpads can be saved and categorized as Collections of information. When a pushpin is placed on a map to mark a location, the user can title and note the location, include a photo, and attach a URL with more information about the place.

As more pushpins become part of the Scratchpad, users can organize them into Collections. One example could be a Collection of top coffee spots, while another would list the best places for hearing live music or watching football on Sundays.

The Scratchpads can be shared with others, either by email, by Windows Live Messenger, or as a blog entry on MSN Spaces. Local Live users can also add search results to Collections by hovering over them with the mouse and selecting “Add to Collection” from the menu that appears.

Searches in Local Live will return results and sometimes sponsored links from Superpages as well, depending on the query terms. Visitors who follow the search advertising sector would likely expect to see Microsoft adCenter advertisements appearing there, since Microsoft now uses adCenter throughout its online properties.

I know local search has great importance to Microsoft’s designs on the online advertising market. CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed with me via email that the company would make a big push with adCenter by focusing on bringing in a high volume of small business advertisers for local search.

Since adCenter does not formally launch for a few weeks, the Superpages links in Local Live could be subject to change very soon.

A few major metropolitan areas have real-time traffic data available in the US. Color coding of roads shows the average speed of traffic on them, while indicators for minor, moderate, and serious incidents denote where those incidents took place.

Looking at the metropolitan New York area at 6:24 AM shows minor delays at the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels on the New Jersey side (gosh, what a huge surprise there). A marker at 3rd Avenue between 28th and 29th Streets reports a fuel spill is blocking all lanes of traffic there until further notice.

Local Live users have the option to show scheduled construction locations when those projects are taking place on the roads. That can help avoid the unwelcome surprise of a three-lane road suddenly narrowing to one and give drivers the chance to plan an alternate route.

Microsoft also announced it now has a Windows Live Local Add-in for Outlook. This add-in introduces Windows Live Local mapping capabilities to the Outlook Calendar, enabling Outlook users to find and print maps and directions to meeting locations from within Outlook.

It also allows them to better manage their travel schedule by extending meeting times to accommodate travel time and automatically send links with mapping information about meeting locations to other people within Outlook Calendar requests.

Microsoft released a Virtual Earth map control for developers who wish to create applications and mashups using Local Live’s mapping, local search, and imagery. The control is available to developers free of charge, and licensing for commercial service and support can be purchased too.

The company cited key new features in the map control including support for address lookups and driving directions, improved local search functionality, and the ability to easily display standard data sets and Windows Live Local user Collections.

“This release is important, as it represents the first time that people can easily capture their rich local knowledge and share it with all Windows Live Local users and the Internet as a whole,” said Stephen Lawler, general manager of the Virtual Earth business unit at Microsoft.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.