First Quarter Strongest to Date, Searches Through the YELLOWPAGES.COM Network Increase By 25 Million a Month
GLENDALE, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Traffic to YELLOWPAGES.COM, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. , grew by at least 70 percent year over year, according to the comScore Media Metrix trend report for March 2008.(1)
In addition, comScore recently recognized the YELLOWPAGES.COM Network as the leader in Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) share.(2) The company also won the Yellow Pages Association's 2007 Gold Award for Marketing Innovation in recognition of its mobile features -- including a mobile client and SMS text searching.
"Our mission is to connect buyers with sellers," said David Krantz, president of AT&T's YELLOWPAGES.COM unit. "In 2007, we saw consumers change their search habits, with more searches for user-generated content and more interest in mobile search. We developed features like video advertisements to enhance the connection with buyers and sellers. Our goal is to not only grow traffic to our site and our mobile applications but to make the YELLOWPAGES.COM local ad network even more valuable."
CREATING A GAME-CHANGING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, INCREASING ADVERTISER VALUE
YELLOWPAGES.COM relaunched its Web site in 2007 to improve the online experience with new features and enhancements, such as highly targeted searching, expanded content, simplified user reviews and improved navigation. 2007 also marked the release of new mobile features for on-the-go consumers, including:
* An easy-to-use local search application for dozens of wireless devices,
plus plans to pre-install it on millions of AT&T handsets in 2008.
* The introduction of SMS text message search capabilities through the
YP411 (97411) short code, which provides business listing information
and links to maps and driving directions.
* The introduction of 1-800-YELLOWPAGES, a free directory-assistance
service.
2008 FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
* 70 percent year-over-year increase of unique visitor traffic to the
site, according to comScore Media Trends report for March 2008.
* 25 percent year-over-year increase of monthly searches delivered through
the YELLOWPAGES.COM Network -- there are now more than 125 million
searches a month.(3)
* Sales of YELLOWPAGES.COM online video ads have exceeded company
projections.(4)
* Mobile searches increased more than 50 percent from September 2007 to
March 2008.(4)
* YELLOWPAGES.COM added Microsoft Corp. to its ad network though an
exclusive arrangement, publishing YELLOWPAGES.COM advertisers across
Microsoft local search sites, including Live Search, Live Search Maps
and MSN Yellow Pages.
* Being ranked No. 31 in comScore's top 100 Web properties for March
2008.(5)
YELLOWPAGES.COM is becoming more valuable to advertisers by moving more into the three screens that people use most -- the Web, mobile phones and TV through AT&T U-verse(SM) TV. YELLOWPAGES.COM's award-winning Need Something(SM) national advertising campaign is also driving awareness and brand preference for the site. The campaign was launched in 2006, and it has helped to lift YELLOWPAGES.COM brand awareness by more than 20 percentage points since then. When consumers were asked, "Which sites would you consider using to find a local business?" they ranked YELLOWPAGES.COM above all other IYP sites. It is now the first Web site considered after Google and Yahoo!.
YELLOWPAGES.COM bolsters AT&T's industry-leading portfolio of services that provide local and nationwide residential and business information to consumers and advertising solutions to national and small businesses. AT&T also offers 411, a premier caller-paid directory-assistance service, and 1-800-YellowPages, a free directory-assistance service, and owns the world's largest print publisher in terms of revenue.
For more information on YELLOWPAGES.COM's local search products, visit http://www.yellowpages.com/advertising.
SOURCES:
(1) Media Metrix Media Trend report, comScore March 2007 vs. March 2008
for http://www.yellowpages.com/ url
(2) comScore IYP Search Report, Q4 2007
(3) Total combined searches measured through the YELLOWPAGES.COM Network
sites internal site statistics (YELLOWPAGES.COM, AOL Yellow Pages,
Yahoo! Yellow Pages, Yahoo! Local, Anywho, Addresses.com,
AreaGuides.net, 411.com)
(4) Based on YELLOWPAGES.COM internal measurements
(5) "Top 100 Properties," Media Metrix, comScore March 2008
About YELLOWPAGES.COM
YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC is a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. Formed in late 2004, the company operates a leading IYP and local search site, YELLOWPAGES.COM. The YELLOWPAGES.COM Nationwide Network provides exposure to more than 38 million monthly unique visitors (comScore Media Metrix, March 2008).
*The unique visitor number for the YELLOWPAGES.COM Nationwide Network (Custom Entity) includes unduplicated visitors for the following sites: YELLOWPAGES.COM, AOL Yellow Pages, Yahoo! Local, Yahoo! Yellow Pages, AnyWho, Addresses.com and AreaGuides.net.
About AT&T 1-800-YELLOWPAGES
1-800-YELLOWPAGES (1-800-935-5697) is a new service offered by AT&T that provides free access to directory listings. Consumers get free access to directory listings while letting advertisers reach callers at a critical moment when they are calling for information.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. In 2008, AT&T again ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine's World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company list and No. 1 on America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company list. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/.
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