LookSmart and UpSNAP Partner for Cell Phone Directory
Looksmart has partnered with UpSNAP! to offer its customers a new way to extend their reach off-line and directly to consumers via text-enabled cell phones under a pay-per-click/call model. UpSNAP! recently launched its free 411 service allowing mobile users to access White Pages and Yellow Pages listings directly from a cell phone via text-messaging, without the typical $1.25 charge by most wireless carriers.
The agreement between UpSNAP! and LookSmart will offer merchants the opportunity to reach more than 160 million mobile consumers. For the first time, advertisers have a performance-based revenue model via text-messaging on cellular telephones. As conventional Yellow Page usage continues to decrease, online “look-ups” have steadily increased by nearly 2 billion since 2001, according to research firm The Kelsey Group.
Rather than paying a flat fee for Yellow Page ads, merchants utilizing UpSNAP! now have access to paid listing options with a built-in metric to account for direct responses from mobile consumers using UpSNAP!’s free 411, funded by LookSmart Listings.
This is an interesting venture for LookSmart, which has been treading water since losing a high profile MSN deal. By jumping into new waters such as desktop search and cell phone yellow pages, LookSmart seems to be laying new ground in developing outlets for paid search advertising.
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