RefreshClassifieds

Livedeal ( formerly Yellowpages ) has announced that Livedeal.com and Yellowpages.com have consolidated on to a single technology platform.  While this probably means nothing to most consumers since the experience on both Livedeal.com and Yellowpages.com is essentially the same.

The big impact with the announcement is probably for business advertisers which should be able to use the tools to advertise on both Livedeal.com and Yellowpages.com.  As directories and classified products continue to consolidate it should put Livedeal in a position to save the customer time with a consolidated offering.

Verizon Corporation, provider of personal and business directories in Virginia has settled a long standing accuracy dispute with the State Corporation Commission.  The case focused on over 3000 error claims and could result in Verizon paying $2M in penalties to those effected.  Yellowpages and other commercial advertising were excluded from the case.  The SCC will also be monitoring Verizon directory accuracy and Verizon could face another $4M in fines if it does maintain a 99% accuracy rate.

We thought this was an interesting case in that many Yellowpages publishes also maintain the white pages phone directories in their region.  The Whitepages are becoming increasing unprofitable for companies and its not a surprise to see Verizon trying to save in this area.  We could see more situations where Yellowpages publishers abandon the Whitepages business.

Skype is probably best known as the alternative communication platform that provides low-cost long distance from almost any computer on the planet.  When Skype was bought by Ebay in 2005 the plan for Skype in the Ebay empire was anything but clear.  In the last 2 years Skype has continued to improve its product line and launched Skype Find e earlier this year.  Skype Find allows user created vendor recommendations and content to be searchable from with Skype.   The connection to allow Skype users to connect directly with these businesses without using telephone numbers is fairly clear.

Skype has recently released support for third-party developers to integrate into Skype and Skype Find.  For directory companies this should be a great opportunity to get access to Skype technology and user base.  The ideal solution would be to connect the Skype Find service with a business directory and cross reference the listings.  If the user wants to use Skype to call the business, they can, or if the business is not Skype enabled, they can use Skype Out to make normal telephone calls.

Skype is a little slow of the mark with its API and a desire to support third-party developers but it is a fairly dominate leader in the instant messaging and voip space.  It will be interesting to see if any major directory provides take advantage of this new technology.

In a trend that seems to defy most Web 2.0 companies, Local.com has released the Uk.Local.com from beta.  Other online sites, most notably Google Gmail have stayed in beta for years.

The Uk.Local.com has also launched with an updated search interface which lets users : 

• Sort results by rating, distance, business name and category
• Limit results to a defined radius
• Filter results by related categories and nearby cities
• Sort by star ratings and read user reviews
• Access recent searches, which are now automatically saved for easy reference

The site also lets users search for various UK landmarks like “Piccadilly Circus” or “Westminster Abbey” and combine these with what they are looking for like “Pub near Piccadilly Circus”.    UK search is up 22% overall since 2006, as reported by Hitwise, and expected to grow as high speed internet becomes more popular in the UK.  

Hot on the heals of the 2007/2008 print directory launch in Montreal,  the Yellow Pages group has launched a light edition for the Calgary market in Canada.  It would appear that like the full directory the light edition is being distributed to all homes in Calgary.   Also like the full directory the light edition will include all advertising categories.   The light directory appears to be targeted on people who want a glove box edition, or something to carry with them but not clear how big the market is for portable print directories.

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the light edition is the inclusion of a “Your Life Events Planner” section.  Directory usage is often linked to different life events like moving, getting married or having kids.  Each of these generates a need to contact new busineses in your area.  I think think its a great idea that a directory attempt to connect with these life events that generated so much value for advertisers.

Overall I don’t think there is clear value for advertisers in the light edition.  I’m not sure that a smaller former factor will really generate enough additional usage to justify the addition expense of advertising in both the full directory and light edition.

Disclosure:  Yellow Pages Group purchased Trader Media Corporation in 2006 and I was an employee of Trader Corporation from 2006 to 2007 which was owned by Yellow Pages Group.  I still own stock in Yellow Pages Group as a result.

Over the past few weeks Google has been re-evaluating how to they rank different web directories, specifically those that are being used exclusively to get high search engine rank. For years its been a common strategy to get your web site listed into as many web directories as possible and use the combined inbound links to increase your page rank. Google appears to be changing the rules on this a little and we have the following recommendations for evaluating web directories:

1. Quality of the Companies and Links

What are the quality of the Companies and Links in the directory like? Do they all resolve? Be wary of sites that have a lot of links to companies with ad specific landing pages or under review just don’t really appear to be legitimate businesses.

2. Fee Process

Is there a fee to submit? If the fee is setup exclusively to ensure search engine ranking or covers multiple directory sites be wary. The fee should be structure should be setup such that you are paying for someone to review your company and ensure it is legitimate. If you are paying for anything else as part of the submission, like inbound links etc.. be concerned.

3. Rejection Process

Mos legitimate directories will have a rejection process and a process to mediate rejection. If the directory you a submitting to guarantees acceptance or offers assurance about increased page rank, we recommend moving on to another service.

With these quick steps you should be able to find legitimate Web Directories that can help both your business and your search engine ranking.

The Yellowpages Groups in Canada has launched their new 2007/2008 print directory in Montreal.   The Yellowpage Pages Group publishes more than  340 annual directories across Canada and runs the industry leading Yellowpages.ca web site.  The most interesting aspect of the launch announce is the quote from Jean-Pascal Lion:

“The Yellow Pages directory is still the research tool of choice for anyone ready to make a purchase,” said Jean-Pascal Lion, Vice President, Marketing, Yellow Pages Group. “Even today, contrary to popular belief, we see that advertising expenses still favor the print book. Every month, some 110 million searches are made in our directories in Canada: 74 million in print and 36 million online. Nearly twice as many users consult the print directory than Internet.”

Its interesting that the company is able to pin point that 110M searches were made with both print and online, and that online is actually the smaller category.   It would be interesting to see some independent third-party research to back this up.  It would also be interesting to compare the number of online searches with other online search providers like Google Local in Canada.

Disclosure:  Yellow Pages Group purchased Trader Media Corporation in 2006 and I was an employee of Trader Corporation from 2006 to 2007 which was owned by Yellow Pages Group.  I still own stock in Yellow Pages Group as a result.

Finditt.com has added Dating to its list of Classified Services.  Finditt.com has done reasonably well as a search engine/business directory but has recently been expanding into more of the classified markets.   The focus for Finditt.com seems to be on creating small micro-sites for different business verticals.  Recently they added a specialized Sushi Category to their Business Directory for this reason.

Its not clear whether this approach of creating micro-sites will help or hinder Finditt.com.  Creating too many fragment sites or sections may confuse consumers who want the simplicity of a Google like interface with multiple searches from a single interface.  It could be argued thought that by specializing they can create a more unique experience for users interested in that category and provide a more indepth experience.  In anycase it will be interesting to see if Finditt.com can apply all the resources required to develop each category.

White Directory Publishers, a division of Hearst Holding, has partnered with BIAP to become the exclusive sales force for Yellowpages TV listings.  BIAP is one of the leading technology companies in the the new interactive TV listings marketing and has created the Yellowpages TV listing services for TV set-top boxes.  The relationship allows BIAP access to advertisers from White Directory Publishers, Talking Directory product, the third largest directory publisher in the US.  The partnership covers 28 key markets across the US.

The Yellowpages TV technology leverages the Interactive TV capabilities available in many set-top boxes available across the US that have been relatively unused.  The Interactive TC capability allows consumers the ability to search web sites, or in this case business listings with just their TV remote control.  Its not clear how easy this functionality will be use to but it does create an interesting partnership in the business directory market.

InfoSpace Inc has sold its Directory Business to Directory Publisher Idearc Inc for a reported $225M USD. The flagship of the Infospace Directory Business, Switchboard.com, was also included in the deal as well as all Yellowpages and Whitepages publishing businesses.

Idearc Inc, is itself a new entry to directory business after being spun off by Verizon to publish the Verizon Yellowpages and Whitepages directories. Idearc Inc also operates the Superpages.com web site and indicated the purchase of Infospace Directory business provides more reach for local advertisers.