LookSmart, a global leader in search, and BellSouth, a leader in print and Internet Yellow Pages in the Southeast US, today announced an agreement designed to help BellSouth advertisers achieve exposure for their businesses in search results across the Web.
BellSouth will offer Real Search Engine Solutions(SM), a bundled solution to help Yellow Pages advertisers get listed across LookSmart’s partner distribution network via paid search inclusion. In addition, BellSouth will promote RealPages.com(SM), its online destination for Yellow Page services, via LookSmart LookListings.
“This is the first major U.S. agreement between providers of traditional Yellow Pages and Internet search,” said Tony Mamone, vice president of sales and marketing for LookSmart. “We’ve always believed that paid search inclusion was the right vehicle to bridge the gap between offline and online lead generation, and we’re pleased that BellSouth shares our belief. RealPages.com is an ideal match for us, because they’re known as the leader in providing media solutions for local businesses in the Southeast.”
By using paid inclusion, an advertiser agrees to compensate LookSmart for driving traffic to their website when their business or products are relevant to the search user. Because advertiser listings show up automatically according to relevancy, there’s no need to bid for individual keywords or monitor auctions.
“This is a groundbreaking deal for our industry,” said Charles Stubbs, president of BellSouth IntelliVentures, the BellSouth Advertising & Publishing Corporation subsidiary that operates RealPages.com. “We’re pleased to offer businesses in the Southeast another way to reach their target audience with a new and highly effective vehicle that’s a natural complement to traditional Yellow Pages advertising.”
It is only natural for IYP’s, Internet Yellow Pages, and search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, and LookSmart to work together to develop local search and local search advertising.
