LONDON – May 3, 2005 – Thomson Directories Ltd., one of the UK’s leading directory companies, and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), developer of the award-winning Google search engine, today announced an agreement whereby Thomson Directories will become the first European directory publisher authorised to sell advertising through Google AdWords to small and medium-sized local businesses in the UK.
Under the multi-year agreement, Thomson Directories will include Google AdWords as an integral part of its ThomsonLocal.com and WebFinder.com online advertising products, an online directory and search engine marketing service designed for small and medium-sized local businesses. By aligning with the 500 strong Thomson Directories sales force, Google can now reach more small and medium-sized local businesses across the UK with Google AdWords.
With AdWords, Google’s performance-based search advertising programme, advertisers can show targeted text advertisements to potential customers at the precise moment they are looking for information related to the products and services the advertiser offers. Google currently provides advertisers with the ability to reach customers in local markets through a variety of targeting options including regional and city level, as well as through an address-based radius feature or by specifying latitude and longitude points.
Google AdWords enables Thomson Directories advertisers who choose to participate in the programme to generate leads across the Google Network, which reaches more than 75 percent of UK Internet users (source: Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2005) through sites such as Google.co.uk, AOL, Ask Jeeves, NTL and Virgin.net.
“Helping our advertisers grow their businesses is at the core of Thomson Directories and ThomsonLocal.com’s success,” said Laurence O’Toole, Business Information and New Media Director of Thomson Directories. “We believe this partnership will allow our customers to take advantage of the extensive reach of the Google Network, which will aid them in attracting more targeted leads.”
“Our relationship with Thomson Directories enables Google to provide more advertisers in the U.K. with access to Google AdWords, while building on our goal of connecting users with relevant local information,” said Kate Burns, MD of UK Advertising Sales. “Through this partnership, Google can also leverage an established and experienced sales force to reach small and medium-sized local businesses across the country.”
With a new and comprehensive range of online advertising from Thomson Directories, advertisers can reach potential customers when consumers are actively looking for information about products and services online. Thomson Directories offers a full-service solution that sends targeted visitors from search engines directly to a customer’s website, or to a specially created information page on ThomsonLocal.com for businesses without a web presence.
O’Toole said by managing the local search solution for advertisers, Thomson Directories is saving its customers time and money and allowing them to benefit from online directories and search engine marketing while maintaining focus on their day-to-day business operations.
“The phenomenal growth of local search, combined with Thomson Directories lead generating products incorporating Google’s AdWords, positions Thomson Directories as a primary partner for our online advertisers,” O’Toole said.
Businesses interested in more information on Thomson Directories range of online advertising products can visit www.thomsondirectories.com.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.co.uk.
Thomson Directories began operating in 1980 and quickly established itself as the leading Local directory publisher in the UK. Today, Thomson Directories produces 173 editions of the Thomson Local, distributing 22 million copies throughout the UK. All this information, and more, is available and easily searchable on ThomsonLocal.com. Each week Thomson Local directories are used by 6 million people and generate 15 million business referrals.
Thomson Directories also produces a variety of other online and new media products and services for businesses, these include:
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Labels: English (UK), UK news announcements
