Search Engine Journal

Local Search & PPCall (Pay Per Call) News

Local search enabler/platform provider Local Matters added Ingenio PPCall listings to its Areaguides.net local portal. This is another distribution partner for Ingenio’s network, which includes AOL, InfoSpace/Switchboard, Local.com, 1800-Free411, Marchex, UpSnap and go2.

Separately, SPG Solutions (Ziffleads) is adding its PPCall merchants to those available through 1800-Free411. Advertiser coverage is one of the challenges the ad-supported free directory assistance services face.

There are PPCall skeptics who want to see a billion dollars in revenue before 2007 or are ready to dismiss the medium. To them I say, PPCall is here to stay and will be widely available online, offline and in a wireless context over the next several years.

There will be many interesting “offline” PPCall experiments in addition to those going on now in Verizon print yellow pages and the LA Weekly.

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Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.