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Archived News - February 2007

Infoserve Uses Magic WAND

February 2007

Infoserve, a leading player in the UK local search market, has teamed up with taxonomy company WAND as part of the development of its new business search website, www.infoserve.com.

WAND's local search taxonomy database, which contains over 1.4 million keywords, will be used alongside Exorbyte's approximate search technology, to give users of Infoserve.com the most specific of search results.

For example, on www.infoserve.com, Internet users will be able to search for business listings using the most obscure keywords and phrases, such as shampoo, which will return results in a variety of categories, including hairdressers, beauty products, cosmetic manufacturers, hairpieces and wigs, hairdressers' equipment and supplies, and carpet cleaners.

Infoserve's CEO Steve Barnes said: “Our new website is capable of providing very specific search results and our partnership with WAND will ensure our users retrieve results for the most intricate search terms.

“We're delighted to have teamed up with WAND and the partnership reflects our growing reputation in the industry as a leader in local search.”

WAND's Marc Brombert said: “We are very pleased to be in partnership with a company like Infoserve. Its best-of-breed technologies and forward-thinking approach to local search make its new business finder a very powerful tool in this fast-growing industry.

“We are delighted that Infoserve has chosen to rely on our hugely successful taxonomy database, and we look forward to enjoying a successful partnership and seeing a very successful product.”

Multimedia company Infoserve, which has its headquarters in Leeds, specialises in helping small and medium sized businesses promote themselves to people searching online for local goods and services. It lists around 2.7 million businesses across its family of websites, which collectively receive more than 24 million visitors a month. Its network includes the websites of a number of major online media partners such as the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, as well as Football League Interactive (FLi) and Sky TV.

Wand's custom built, carefully structured, taxonomy will allow consumers to search for businesses via one of 70,000 categories and return accurate, relevant results. Infoserve believes that Wand's technology, coupled with other software developments, will enable it to become a pioneering UK business finder.

On Infoserve's new website, all businesses will receive a free basic listing which includes company name, address, and telephone number. For businesses keen to maximize their web presence and improve their Internet marketing, enhanced listings are available which includes priority placement in each category, full colour logos and pictures, and additional information pages, along with a link to the business' website.

Infoserve predicts new partner

February 2007

Infoserve, a leading UK online local search marketing company, has joined forces with Exorbyte for the development of its pioneering business search website, www.infoserve.com.

The multimedia company has called on Exorbyte, a world leader in approximate search technologies, to provide its predictive text system for its new business finder. This technology, which allows accurate results to be returned even if words are spelt incorrectly, entered in the wrong order, or synonymous, will increase the website users' satisfaction thanks to its high level of fault toleration.

The system reacts to input within a fraction of a second, allowing Exorbyte's technology to predict and suggest what the end user is searching for. The over all result is highly satisfied consumers who return to the site again and again, increasing web traffic and the number of hits for each listing.

Steve Barnes, CEO of Infoserve, said: “Our new website is capable of providing the most specific of search results and our partnership with Exorbyte will provide our users with an easier, faster and more efficient search method.

“We're delighted to have teamed up with Exorbyte and the partnership reflects our growing reputation in the industry as a leader in local search.”

“With Exorbyte's technology, together with other software developments, we are confident www.infoserve.com will become the premier UK business finder, helping small and medium sized businesses with effective Internet marketing.”

Exorbyte's Managing Director, Gero Lueben added, “I am very pleased to see that a portal like Infoserve, which combines best-of-breed technologies, has chosen to rely on our powerful search platform. As a result of the direct cooperation between our companies, Infoserve will be the first business finder portal to offer intelligent search functionality like the “suggest search.”

Infoserve, which has its headquarters in Leeds, specialises in helping small and medium sized businesses promote themselves to people searching online for local goods and services. It lists around 2.7 million businesses across its family of websites, which collectively receive more than 24 million visitors a month. Its network includes the websites of a number of major online media partners such as the Daily Telegraph, and the Daily Mail, as well as Football League Interactive (FLi) and Sky TV.

Infoserve Ltd. Registered in England & Wales, Number 5750143. Registered Office: South Side Aviation, Leeds Bradford Int'l Airport, Leeds, LS19 7UG
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