Citysearch recently did a deal with Marchex that could really end up benefiting local advertisers with Citysearch. Here´s the lowdown from their press release.

Under the agreement, Citysearch will provide its content, including editorial and user reviews, promotions, images and video for distribution on Marchex’s local network of more than 150,000 local Web sites, including Openlist.com, Yellow.com and geo-targeted sites such as chicagodoctors.com. Marchex will distribute advertisements from Citysearch’s broad base of local advertisers across its local network, which attracts more than 26 million unique users monthly.

“We are partnering with Marchex because we like their unique local strategy where they have built a broad and deep network of highly targeted local sites such as Openlist.com and NewYorkDoctors.com,” said Jay Herratti, CEO, Citysearch. “Marchex’s local network will drive highly qualified consumers to our advertisers, and in turn Citysearch user and editorial content will help Marchex consumers make smarter decisions that save time and money.”

If you are advertising with Citysearch in their local network, you could shortly be seen by an additional 26 million people per month. That could make a huge difference, even for businesses with a lot of competition for their local searchers. It´s definitely something to consider.

Citysearch has been making a lot of effort lately to provide more value, to users and advertisers alike. They seem to be doing a very good job of it and Citysearch is rapidly becoming a major player in the local advertising game.

Citysearch has been a good place to get your business listing for some time now, but these days, they are experimenting with video, which could be a very good thing for local businesses. Right now, there is a contest going on, in conjunction with the website Vimeo. The contest, titled “Love at First Bite” is Citysearch´s first attempt at getting user-generated content up on their site.

The Citysearch video contest is a great way to check out how much interest there is in the video side of things. For the Love at First Bite contest, entrants need to take a short, less than 30 second video of themselves taking a bite of their favorite food. Because the video clips are super short, this makes them an excellent method of testing.

And the best part of all this? The winner of the Citysearch video contest in association with Vimeo will win a $1,000 American Express card! While the idea is to use it on your favorite food, this could go a long ways with a local advertising campaign online!

Citysearch and AOL recently announced that they will be working together. The partnership is a favorable one for all involved, especially local advertisers on Citysearch. AOL is still a big deal in many parts and now Citysearch´s local ads will be spread across the AOL network, a huge advantage for anyone who uses this company to advertise locally.

AOL is happy about this as well, since they can now boost the amount of local content on their pages, thanks to Citysearch.

Source:

Under the agreement, Citysearch, a leading online local guide and an operating business of IAC, will provide its local content, including editorial reviews, user reviews, merchant videos, photos and offers for distribution across AOL properties, such as AOL CityGuide, AOL Local Search and MapQuest. AOL will integrate local advertising and content from Citysearch’s broad base of local advertisers into AOL’s leading local properties, offering advertisers access to more than 57 million unique users per month.

This is definitely beneficial to local advertisers who have already been using Citysearch, or contemplating it. You will now be able to reach many more millions of viewers with your local ads, making Citysearch a very good network to advertise with if you run a local business.

One of the best features about Citysearch is the ability to guide your customers directly to your location through Geo Views.

Geo Views is Citysearch’s map feature. Like Google Maps, you can place your business in its exact location and point potential customers to your location and even tell them how to get there. This has some excellent applications, including mobile marketing benefits.

Scenario #1: Someone Google’s a key concept in your industry with a geo-targeted keyword. Your business pops up in the top 10 on the SERP, but not your website - on Citysearch. They click the Page Title link on the SERP and see your Citysearch ad along with a map pinpointing the location of your business. No phone call asking for your address and how to find it. It’s all right there in front of them. The customer prints the page and drives over. No hassle, no fuss. Saves you time so that you don’t have to answer the phone and answer the same question you’ve answered 50 times that day.

Scenario $2: A customer is in her car and knows that you are in the neighborhood, but she doesn’t remember the exact address. She Google’s you on her mobile phone and your Citysearch ad appears in the top 10 results. After visiting the page where your ad appears and looking at the map on her mobile phone, she drives right to your location without missing a beat.

These types of scenarios happen every day with Citysearch customers. Shouldn’t you be advertising on Citysearch?

One of the unique things about advertising on Citysearch is that you can run your ads on the same pages as your competition. These ads on Citysearch are called Edge Ads. Citysearch will run them on your competitors’ profile pages, giving you a bigger edge over the competition by stealing their thunder.

Your Edge Ad will be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal simply because you can run it right beside the competition, but the features of the ad itself make it worthwhile even without the leg up:

• Name of your business in big bold letters
• Tagline
• Link to your website
• Photo or logo
• Editorial reviews

Another great benefit to the Edge Ads is that Citysearch rotates them whenever Citysearch users search for those types of businesses. Every so often, your ad will appear at the top. In other words, if there are five businesses of your type in your local area then every fifth search your business will appear at the top of the listings. How cool is that?

Citysearch is one of the few online business directories that offers national search as well as local search. If you run a local business that can do business on a national scope as well as a local scope then Citysearch is likely the best place for you to advertise.

The categories available in the Citysearch national directory are about as diverse any list possible. Just check out the options for listing your business:

• Alternative Medicine
• Health Services
• Art, Collectibles, & Hobbies
• Home & Garden Products
• Home & Garden Services
• Attorneys
• Automotive
• Home Entertainment
• Beauty & Fitness
• Insurance
• Business Services
• Pets
• Real Estate

This is nowhere near a complete list, but you get the idea. If you really want to advertise your local business online and see your ad reach the right target market, both locally and nationally, then Citysearch is your best option.

Citysearch has a unique set up when it comes to pay per click. Their ads run on their own internal network so when you advertise through Citysearch you are advertising on their website and possibly even their sister websites, which include:

• Bloglines
• Excite
• Expedia
• CollegeHumor
• Evite
• Hotwire
• iWon
• Insider Pages
• LiveDaily
• MerchantCircle
• MyWay
• Pronto

There are two primary ways to advertise on CitySearch. You can choose the WebConnect option or the CallConnect option. These aren’t difficult to figure out. WebConnect allows your customers to find you through online advertising that connects to your website. CallConnect allows them to connect with you through a phone call. Right now CitySearch is offering $30 off your first full month of service. How much better a deal do you need?

One of my favorite things about Citysearch is its Best Of Guide.

The Best of Citysearch offers users of the online guide a chance to vote on their favorite businesses in certain categories. It’s a fabulous way to gain a local reputation that will far outstrip any advertising that you do. It’s almost a cliche, but word of mouth is the best form of advertising. The Best of Guide at Citysearch makes word of mouth possible among strangers and to the benefit of every business that uses Citysearch.

The categories of business that can be voted on in the Best of Guide at Citysearch include:

• Restaurant
• Nightlife
• Shopping
• Spa & Beauty
• Hotel

If you own a business in any of these categories you qualify to be included in the Best of Citysearch feature and your customers can vote on your business as their favorite. For more information about the Best of Citysearch polls, visit Citysearch today.

Citysearch is more than just a directory. It’s a great place to advertise your business and they have a lot of different advertising options for a business just like yours. The display advertising options are plentiful. Besides setting up a business profile, which looks a lot like a professional recommendation, you can also purchase featured listings, create special offers, display what are called “edge ads,” and you can geotarget your advertising too.

The edge ads on Citysearch will display on profile pages related to your business, which means you can appear side by side next to your competition on their profile pages. How cool is that?

This is an age-old proven tactic in advertising. Put your ad right next to your competition’s ad and if you do a better job of attracting attention then you will get the response before they will. I use the strategy all the time and it works. You can do it on Citysearch in addition to your profile. That’s the beauty of Citysearch. Now what are you waiting for?

Are you familiar with CitySearch? You need to be.

CitySearch is an online guide to major cities in the U.S. and certain international cities. Some of the major U.S. cities represented include:

• Atlanta
• Dallas
• Denver
• Nashville
• New York
• Seattle
• San Francisco
• Orange County
• Baltimore

And plenty more. That’s just the short list.

International cities included in CitySearch are:

• Melbourne
• Tasmania
• Perth
• Toronto
• Copenhagen

You can also list your business by category. Some of the popular categories at CitySearch include:

• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Spas
• Weddings
• Shopping
• Bars and Nightlife

As you can see, CitySearch has a lot to offer. Now do you know about it?

Citysearch is one of the most useful websites online for local businesses. With a PageRank of 5, it has a significant reputation for leveraging your local small business and getting some recognition for your skills. And I like the way it is set up.

When you first visit Citysearch, you land on the national search page. This allows you to search for hotels, restaurants, or other businesses with a national reputation. But you can also hone in on individual cities. Large cities and smaller cities like Harrisburg, Pa., for example.

When you land on the page for your local city you’ll see several boxes - I like Citysearch’s page design. You’ll see a list of popular places in Harrisburg (or where ever you live), a glimpse into the nightlife, local personals ads, a menu bar on the left featuring significant amenities that you can browse (you know, restaurants, bars, various services). But the most significant feature of Citysearch for businesses is the online Yellow Pages feature, a place where you can list your business to gain that extra edge.

So … first, choose your city. At the very top of your screen (in the banner), you’ll see the name of the city whose page you are on (or just “National Search”) and under that you’ll see a link to “other cities.” Click the link.

Now scroll all the way do to the bottom of the page to where you see “(the name of your city) Yellow Pages.” Click “List Your Business.” You’ll get a pop up window where you can sign up for the Citysearch Yellow Pages plan that you want. And that’s all there is to it. Easy as pie.