Local Search

Yellow page publishers have long held a dominant role in the marketplace for local advertising. However, local advertising has now been pegged as a massive opportunity for major search providers, including for companies like Overture and Google. Already, 16% of local advertisers in the United States are using search engines as a means to generate new leads. In order to retain their market position, yellow page publishers must leverage their assets, including the sales channels and content (headings and text from print advertising). These assets cannot not be easily duplicated by the competition.

"Tell More, Sell More"
The Intelligenx Discovery Engine enables users to "search and browse" iteratively and interactively. Rather than overwhelming users with long lists of "ranked" results, Intelligenx technology gives users a neatly organized summary view of the data at every step of the user's search. This process helps the user to view and refine his/her queries through systematic selection of facets (axes) and categories within a particular facet. At any point in his/her search, the user can switch views from one facet to another and, therefore, drill up, down or sideways into the data.

With any search technology, performance is the name of the game. Most directory companies currently utilize Relational Database (RDBMS) technologies to facilitate online search and retrieval. Implementing fast, sophisticated search and retrieval requires costly engineering, and much hardware, especially for high traffic web sites. Yellow page publishers can also utilize conventional full-text search technologies to search all ad copy and return search results based on a priority. With ordinary full-text search however, users become frustrated when confronted with pages of listings to sort through. Likewise, advertisers are short changed because their ads are lost in the clutter of thousands of other listings.

Existing sales channels are most effective selling high-dollar print product where ROI to the advertiser (and the price) are measured in terms of ad size. Yellow page publishers can sell more, larger print ads by making the content from their print directories searchable online. By making the text of a print yellow page ad searchable on the Internet, sales professionals can do what they know best, craft a compelling message that explains the benefits of buying more ad space in the print product in order to describe the business and the products and services it offers, thereby enhancing the visibility of the business.

Intelligenx helps to unlocks value from yellow page directory data, enhancing ROI for advertisers and providing end-users with better, more intuitive online experiences. The Intelligenx Discovery Engine™ enables end-users to search all the text in a print yellow page ad, including information about the businesses and descriptions of the products, services, and other details (e.g., brands, locations, hours of operation). Intelligenx technology also helps publishers to cost-effectively repurpose its yellow page content without having to engage in long and expensive development cycles. For example, Intelligenx can play an important role in wireless distribution, direct mail, operator-assisted yellow pages, and other synergistic applications related to yellow page directory listings and information.

The ability to rapidly search and manipulate categorized data also has implications related to distribution for yellow page publishers. With Discovery Engine™, publishers can "slice publish" directory information (in real time) thus providing a new and cost-effective method for enhancing the quantity (and quality) of traffic by syndicating targeted searchable and browsable online yellow page directories. This same functionality allows publishers to offer new directory products for national advertisers and membership organizations. Patent-Pending Search and Retrieval

Intelligenx has been immersed in the Local Search arena for over six years and understands the particular nuances of the yellow pages business. Having implemented and deployed several large yellow page directory systems to accommodate hundreds of millions of queries, Intelligenx has completed significant engineering and product development necessary to accommodate the business requirements of yellow page publishers including:

• Multi-tiered priority placements with randomization

• In-line and display advertising

• Intelligent linguistics

• Organization and optimization of headings

• Multi-modal delivery (web, wireless, voice)

• Proximity and distance searching

• ROI reporting to merchants and sales force

• Extensive familiarity with yellow page data

• Multi-lingual support for foreign characters

Intelligenx's adaptive "bolt-on" technology enables easy retrofit on to the front of existing data and maintenance infrastructure. The technology works independently from the database on low-cost, commodity-class servers in ultra-scalable clustered computing environments. With built-in reliable performance, publishers can implement quickly and thereafter, engage in rapid solutions development to keep up with emerging business requirements.

Intelligenx's AdOptimizer specifically is designed to work with highly funcional local search sites. The new ad optimization tool is designed to enable yellow page sales reps to intelligently advise local businesses about text and specific keywords that ought to be included as part of their print and Internet advertising. Using Intelligenx's Ad Optimizer existing or prospective advertisers are presented information about keywords and phrases used by other local businesses that are classified in the same heading. The browser based tool also provides information about the number of actual searches from the publisher's website and the search terms that are used by consumers so that the sales rep can more accurately convey the potential return on investment for local advertisers. Intelligenx's Ad Optimizer helps yellow page publishers build a bridge from their existing print directory business to the Internet in a way that makes sense for local advertisers. By integrating print and online advertising through searchable text and allowing for side by side comparisons between similar local businesses individually and in the aggregate, Ad Optimizer provides a means for sales reps to take a consultative role in helping advertisers effectively gain visibility in print and online. In so doing, Ad Optimizer helps yellow page publishers leverage their existing data and sales channel to grow their online advertising and provide an online advertising presence for their local advertisers, without cannibalizing their lucrative print directory business.