Local search and Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) are seeing high growth in both traffic and revenues.

In their 2006 annual forecast, The Kelsey Group estimated that global revenues from local search, including IYP and wireless-related directories, will grow from $3.4 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2010.  A recent report from ComScore and the Yellow Pages Association(™) suggests that consumers are able to find local information more quickly using IYP than by using search engines, while spending more once they find it — local searchers who use IYP spend four to 22 percent more per buyer than local search engine users in the automotive, home and garden, health and beauty, and general services categories.

Mapping and location-based services are playing an increasingly important role in the local search process. A growing number of sites are bringing the mapping experience front and center as the start point for fast and simple searching. Maps and directions are no longer optional for displaying local information, and user experiences are becoming increasingly rich, in terms of both functionality and relevant contextual information, such as nearby transport links, gas stations, WiFi hotspots, car parks and ATMs.

Adding rich mapping services and searches to online directories contributes to increased audience size, frequency of visits, and site stickiness, all of which impact advertisers' ROI, as well as driving more customers to advertisers' physical locations. This powerful combination serves to attract more advertisers to directory sites, thereby boosting advertising rates, revenue and ultimately, profits.

Multimap has been supplying mapping and location-based services to many of the world’s largest brands and directory companies for over a decade. Multimap’s business customers in this sector include Yell.com, Thomson, BT and Applegate Directories. We understand the special requirements of directories’ websites through experience, and help our directory customers improve consumers’ experiences online, boost loyalty and customer interaction, and attract more advertisers with the addition of content-rich, high-impact, flexible and robust mapping services.