Citysearch Unveils Local Ad Network CityGrid

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 29 -- Citysearch LLC, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) , today unveiled CityGrid, a content and advertising network for local. CityGrid aggregates advertisers from multiple partners, enhances their listings' content, and distributes them through a pay-for-performance ad engine to a large audience through partner websites.

In December 2009, CityGrid aggregated more than 500K paying advertisers, enhanced listings and content for 15M businesses, and reached more than 100M unique users across 100 web and mobile sites.

Over the past 24 months, CityGrid has secured distribution agreements with leading publishers and resellers and built a performance ad engine and technical infrastructure to connect their consumers and advertisers. Internet publishers including Bing, MerchantCircle and others are integrating Citysearch content - including editorial reviews, user reviews, social media content, merchant videos, photos and special promotional offers and functionality - into their own branded listings. These pages are then monetized through advertisers from Citysearch and IYP partners.

"Our vision for CityGrid is to be everywhere local happens on the web and to monetize local interactions wherever they occur," said Jay Herratti, CEO of Citysearch. "We've built the CityGrid platform to give publishers the ability to enhance the local experience on their site and to then connect their engaged consumers to paying advertisers we've aggregated through our reseller network."

"CityGrid is a compelling business model in a category where many are vying for market share and operating profits," said Matthew Booth, Senior Vice President, BIA/Kelsey. "For local advertisers and publishers, CityGrid presents a real alternative to search engine marketing which is getting more expensive and to organic traffic which is getting harder to secure."

Source: Citysearch