Interesting platform being offered for free, but many upgrades that need to be added to be 100% effective.  A step in the right direction overall.  There has been one review of the performance so far by Chandu Thota.

(via Greg Sterling)

Urban Mapping has created an API and is offering its database of neighborhoods across the US for free to developers. The company works with search engines and portals to provide more accurate search results (and advertising) when people use “colloquial” or local queries that are not reflected in official boundaries or recognized geographic designations.

CEO Ian White told me in an email that he envisions the API being used by “any site that captures [local] listings of any type (e.g., events, real estate, business listings, etc.) . . . they can now associate [them with] a neighborhood attribute.” He’s also eager to see how developers creatively use the API in alternative ways.

Came across this article today written by Greg Sterling that contains a good overview on Local Advertising in 2008.

Many people I speak to still ask the familiar question, “Is this going to be the breakout year for local?” while expressing frustration or disappointment that “local hasn’t yet lived up to expectations.” But local is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also more complex than the general search market, which features an ecosystem built around a small number of large and highly visible companies. Even though many of those same companies are focused on local, one could almost flip that equation when discussing the local internet: it’s about a very large number of mostly small companies.

In the spirit of that “Is this the year?” question, I thought that for the first Locals Only column of 2008, it’s worth taking stock of where we are and what the coming year likely holds for local.

Internet now a primary medium for local consumers
Study after study has confirmed that consumers research products before buying (mostly offline). However, perhaps more strikingly, the internet has now surpassed the venerable print yellow pages and newspapers as the primary local resource for consumers looking for services. This is not to say that print newspapers and yellow pages don’t have meaningful usage anymore, but we’ve reached an important “tipping point” of sorts.

The two studies that independently reflected this shift in 2007 this were from TMP Directional Marketing-comScore and WebVisibile-Nielsen. Both studies showed search and/or the Internet generally as the medium with the greatest reach among U.S. consumers for local information:

Accordingly, the internet is now a critical consumer resource that drives increasing volumes of offline (local) transactions, whether for products or services.

More product inventory information coming online
Though it’s uneven and not always accurate, the depth and volume of product inventory information online is gaining. There have been tremendous strides over the past couple of years and this year should see local inventory information become even more common and widely proliferated online (and in mobile). More retailers are adding popular “buy online, pick up in store” capabilities. This requires a real-time inventory database, which can then support syndication and distribution of that information. Furthermore, a growing list of companies is making headway on the problem of helping consumers find where they can buy desired products locally. As I’ve written before, this expanding group includes: ShopLocal, TheFind, StepUp/Intuit, NearbyNow, Krillion, Where2GetIt, Channel Intelligence, Yokel, GPShopper, AskTheLocal and a few others.

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This is older news that I came across today that I found interesting.  As local advertising continues to explode, we will see more companies protecting their new technology thru patents to keep the competition out of reach and to maximize profits.  Google.com has several of patents (Very interesting, must read) pending for local search, as well as many others dealing with local.  They continue to be the leader in many of the local search innovations that will eventually fit into Geopreneurs domain development, one way or another.  It is amazing how one company can concur a niche in such a short amount of time.  What will the next trends be once everything is in place for local search and advertising?   

One day I will conduct research and do an outline of the internet trends since going mainstream.  It will be interesting to see how technology and mindsets have changed over the years.  It may also help predict the future.  The famous saying holds truth; In order to see the future, you must study the past. That post will come with time.

Local business finding search engine, Local.com gets to have its local search technology patented to several companies which are part of its LocalConnect Platform. These companies which got the Local.com’s search technology patent licenses include, PremierGuide. Former PremierGuide clients Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI), GateHouse Media, Inc., Herald Association, Inc., Intellistrand, LLC and The Telegraph, including over 200 sites owned and operated by these properties. Existing contracts of these companies with Local.com has been revised to reflect the patent licenses.

Local.com’s local search technology has attracted more than 10 million page visitors monthly and is widely used by both consumers and production companies in searching information regarding local businesses and companies. Hence, Local.com deemed it appropriate to have the technology patented so that those wanting to incorporate the local search technology in their companies would have to get a patent license from Local.com first.

This is a pretty smart move on the part of Local.com. Its Local Search Technology which rely heavily on geographical search and indexing of data by location has been delivering the most relevant search results to users. It has been proven that companies who employs Local.com’s local search technology has been pretty successful in delivering relevant local search results to their clients.

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Google is doing their best to take over the World and local markets via cell phones, robots, cameras, and the internet.  Most of their new technology is focusing on the local market.  The future of the internet is going to be 100% local if google.com has anything to say about it.  I expect this same button to come soon to automobile GPS systems. 

Here is a press release by Thomson:  

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), have partnered to help consumers save money on 411 business information calls by integrating the first ever one-touch, auto-dial GOOG-411 button into many of its latest GE-branded DECT 6.0™ Interference Free phones for 2008. One of many new innovative features for consumers from Thomson, GOOG-411 is Google’s free, voice-activated, business directory assistance service, and the GOOG-411 button will be incorporated on more than a dozen GE phones, which will be available in April. The first chance to see the new GE DECT 6.0 phones with the GOOG-411 button will be during the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show at the Thomson/GE booth #20901 South Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center.

“While some people still use the ‘phone book,’ most traditional paper versions these days are remarkably incomplete and do not fit today’s fast paced lifestyle,” said Tom Bratton, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Thomson Consumer Network Solutions. “In America alone, more than $18 million is spent on business information calls daily! That amounts to about $7 billion dollars spent per year. We believe that consumers will appreciate the ability to use GOOG-411, making free business information calls at the push of a single button.”

“We are pleased that Thomson has incorporated Google’s powerful local search service into their latest line of phones,” said Marc Vanlerberghe, Director of Mobile Marketing of Google, Inc. “GOOG-411 connects users to businesses for no charge. We believe that users will appreciate the ease, speed and simplicity of finding and connecting with businesses at the push of one button. Google is committed to making information useful and accessible when and where our users need it, whether it is on a desktop machine, a mobile device, or a landline handset.”

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