MerchantCircle and infoUSA Partner to Improve Local Business Data Accuracy
Good Afternoon Everyone -
On Tuesday we officially announced a partnership with infoUSA to give our merchants the ability to easily update (or fix) their business information so that it is accurately reflected across the major search engines and listing sites as well as mobile devices and navigation systems. One of the biggest problems our 615,000 business owners complain about is that their business's information is inaccurate on some or all directories. Additionally, manually correcting the data is cumbersome and difficult to manage. Local Directory Submission (LDS) was developed to solve this problem and compliments several other products and services merchants currently utilize to manage their online presence. More detail can be found in the press release below.
Regards,
Doug Kilponen and Ray Landgraf
Business Development
MC BD Blog: http://www.merchantcircle.com/bizdev/index.html
infoUSA Announces Partnership with MerchantCircle
to Provide Local Merchants a Competitive Online Presence
infoUSA Powers MerchantCircle’s New Local Directory Submission (LDS) Service to Improve Local Business Data Accuracy and Distribution
OMAHA, NE and Los Altos, CA September 30, 2008 – infoGROUP (NASDAQ: IUSA), the leading provider of proprietary business and consumer databases, local business listings for directories, Points of Interest (POI) for navigation systems, sales leads, direct marketing, email marketing and global information, today announced a partnership with MerchantCircle, the largest online network of local business owners in the nation, to distribute MerchantCircle’s local business information across the internet.
MerchantCircle’s Local Directory Submission (LDS) service provides local merchants the opportunity to add and update their business information across all major search engines, mobile devices and navigation systems. infoUSA will standardize and verify local business information for accuracy, then incorporate that information into the most current installment of the infoUSA database. As a result, this data will be distributed to key infoUSA partners. The leading 5 search engines in the U.S. rely on infoUSA's data to power their local search and directory offerings and 90% of vehicles with navigation systems on the road today use infoUSA Point of Interest (POI) data.
Jim DeRouchey, President, infoUSA License Division stated, “Partnering with MerchantCircle provides local businesses the opportunity for one-stop distribution of their locations to the marketplace. Local businesses are the most challenging businesses to find and verify. With infoUSA and MerchantCircle’s collaboration, regardless of the size, these businesses are incorporated in the infoUSA database and distributed broadly. The partnership emphasizes infoUSA’s commitment to providing the highest quality data for our partners in the local search, navigation and mobile space.”
“Our 615,000 local business members rely on MerchantCircle to attract customers online,” says Darren Waddell, Vice President of Marketing. “Partnering with infoUSA ensures that our members will be accurately represented when consumers look for local businesses across all major search engines and new channels like in-car navigation and mobile search.”
infoUSA remains a leading provider of proprietary business databases to the local search and navigation industries. For more information, please contact Jim DeRouchey, President, infoUSA License Division, at 402-537-7915 or jim.derouchey@infousa.com.
About MerchantCircle
Founded in 2005, MerchantCircle is the largest online network of local business owners in the nation, combining social networking features with a customizable web listing that allows local merchants to attract new customers. More than 15 million MerchantCircle business listings across the country are easily accessed on major search engines.
Currently, over 615,000 merchants on the MerchantCircle network upload pictures, blog, create coupons and newsletters, and connect with other merchants. In addition to its free services, MerchantCircle offers a portfolio of online advertising services including Search Engine Marketing, Website Directory Submission, Web Content Creation, and Business Verification. MerchantCircle has attracted thousands of paying customers since launching a suite of advertising services in December.
MerchantCircle is located on Main St. in downtown Los Altos, Calif., and is funded by Rustic Canyon Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, and IAC. Learn more at www.MerchantCircle.com.
About infoGROUP
infoGROUP (www.infoGROUP.com) (NASDAQ: IUSA), founded in 1972, is the leading provider of business and consumer databases for sales leads & mailing lists, database marketing services, data processing services and sales and marketing solutions. Content is the essential ingredient in every marketing program, and infoGROUP has the most comprehensive data in the industry, and is the only company to own 12 proprietary databases under one roof. The infoGROUP database powers the directory services of the top Internet traffic-generating sites. Nearly 4 million customers use infoGROUP’s products and services to find new customers, grow their sales, and for other direct marketing, telemarketing, customer analysis and credit reference purposes. infoGROUP headquarters are located at 5711 S. 86th Circle, Omaha, NE 68127 and can be contacted at (402) 593-4500. To know more about Sales Leads, click www.infoGROUP.com.
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, recent changes in senior management, the successful integration of recent and future acquisitions, fluctuations in operating results, failure to successfully carry out our Internet strategy or to grow our Internet revenue, effects of leverage, changes in technology and increased competition. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
posted by MerchantCircle Staff at 2:15 PM,
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