ReachLocal And SMG Directory Marketing Partner To Give SMG Clients Prominent Placement In Local Search Results

ENCINO, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2005) – ReachLocal (www.reachlocal.com), the leading provider of online marketing solutions to local businesses and the agencies that serve them, and SMG Directory Marketing (SMGDM), one of the nation’s top 10 directory marketing agencies, today announced that they have partnered to offer ReachLocal’s patent-pending online marketing platform to SMGDM’s clients. The partnership will enable SMGDM’s clients to enlist ReachLocal’s local search solution to find new customers online.

Under the terms of the agreement, SMG Directory Marketing will offer clients ReachLocal ’s online marketing platform as part of an overall service that includes complete search engine campaign set-up and management, simplification of online media buying across multiple online publishers – including Google, Yahoo and Verizon SuperPages – and robust campaign reporting with sophisticated phone call and web activity tracking.

Online search vehicles have become the directory of choice for many consumers. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, web searching is second only to email in the list of U.S. Internet users’ most popular activities, with a full 84 percent of all Internet users reporting they use a search engine to find information – and 30 percent of those with Internet access saying they search daily. Search engine marketing has become one of the most effective and important advertising strategies for businesses of all sizes.

Directional marketing experts since 1981, SMGDM is one of the nation’s leading specialist agencies for the planning, buying and creative development of print and online directory marketing. As a division of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), SMGDM planners integrate with a range of general market, multicultural, events and direct response planners to create comprehensive advertising campaigns.

“SMGDM is a key provider of both online and offline advertising and communications for a growing core of large-scale clients who also want a local focus,” said Zorik Gordon, president and CEO, ReachLocal. “Our platform will enable them to take advantage of tapping into those local markets in an easy, cost-effective and seamless way, ensuring SMGDM gets its clients’ ads to the top of the local search results of the most popular search vehicles.”

“It’s extremely important in directory marketing to incorporate an element that connects advertisers with consumers on the Internet,” said Kathleen DeCaire-Aden, CEO, SMGDM. “With ReachLocal, we are offering our clients tools like search keyword bidding, geographic targeting, and detailed ROI tracking that allow our clients to reach potential customers where they are online.”

ReachLocal provides its advertisers with prominent placement in search results with the most popular local search vehicles. Currently ReachLocal is working with the Internet’s leading pay-per-click search engine providers (Google, Yahoo Sponsored Search), Internet Yellow Pages companies (SuperPages.com), paid inclusion providers (Yahoo Site Match Exchange) and geo-targeted banner networks (Advertising.com). With the “pay-per-click” model, advertisers pay only when users click on their ads to visit specific sites.

About ReachLocal

ReachLocal (www.ReachLocal.com) uses local search to bring Internet marketing within reach of every business, dramatically easing the process of finding customers online. Its proprietary, patent-pending advertising platform gives local businesses prominent placement on leading search engines, including Google and Yahoo!/Overture, along with online Yellow Pages companies and other popular commercial listings – while limiting the display of the ads to only those people who live within specific geographic areas. ReachLocal is a Local Match Ambassador with Yahoo!/Overture and a Qualified Google AdWords Professional. Based in Encino, Calif., ReachLocal utilizes a nationwide network of independent sales agents to serve a diverse client base that includes auto dealers, dentists, home improvement companies, real estate agents, attorneys, travel agents and more.

About SMG Directory Marketing

SMG Directory Marketing creates ideas to leverage a brand's potential throughout directory outlets online and in print. They bring client information to consumers at the precise point when they are ready to buy. Ranked in Ad Age's list of Top ten directory marketing agencies, SMGDM is a division of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), a subsidiary of Paris-based Publicis Groupe. With a global staff of more than 3,800 contact architects, SMG's network of 110 offices in 76 countries fuels brand-building results for many of the world's leading companies.

Contact:

Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
818-990-5001
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com

Chandra Lim
SMG Directory Marketing
312-220-1157
Chandra.Lim@smvgroup.com