Yext Launches Yext Tags - Offers Local Businesses Ability to Highlight Their Listing in Organic Search Results for First Time Ever

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Yext (www.yext.com), a leading local advertising technology company, today launched Yext Tags, a new service that allows local advertisers to instantly deliver their message with highlighted tags in local search results on dozens of top sites across the web.  Yext Tags adds a highlighted message to local business listings in the organic search results and profile pages on leading local search sites like MapQuest, Citysearch, Superpages.com, Yellowbook and others.  Tags can be up to 50 characters long, and on most sites, the tags update instantly.  Tags help businesses deliver their message and stand out among their competition in the natural search results.

Unlike most advertising solutions, Yext Tags highlights the business's listing in the organic section of search results, where 80 percent of consumers make their choice.  This allows businesses to stand out without moving their listing to the lower traffic paid section.  Tags are a simple and remarkably effective form of advertising and recent studies have shown them to double consumer attention to a listing.

"Yext Tags is the most powerful product we have ever created," said Howard Lerman, CEO and Co-Founder of Yext.  "Local advertisers now have the ability to instantly deliver their message with highlighted tags in local search results.  This helps them stand out from the pack so people choose them.  We are incredibly fired up to bring this completely unique product to the market."

Yext Tags launches with a roster of exclusive partnerships that will deliver Tags to local search results via the web, mobile web and even mobile GPS applications.  Many partners are updating parts of their sites to show off the new Tags in search results and profiles, including MapQuest, CityGrid Media's Citysearch, SuperMedia's Superpages.com, Yellowbook, MerchantCircle, Local.com, MagicYellow, TeleNav, GetFave and Topix.  Others, like Yelp, are making use of existing site elements to display the Tags message on the business's profile page.

"MapQuest is excited to partner with Yext on the launch of Yext Tags as it speaks to our commitment to providing value to our visitors in smart and innovative ways," said Christian Dwyer, senior vice president and GM, MapQuest.  "Yext Tags provide an advertising solution not just effective for our business partners, but efficient, accurate and well-targeted for consumers."

"Imagine the benefits for local companies who take advantage of Yext Tags with real-time messaging," said Sandra Crawford Williamson, Chief Marketing Officer at SuperMedia. "A restaurant offering specials during a college bowl weekend or a plumber, roofer or snow removal business providing deals after a blizzard provides these SMBs a super way of differentiating themselves from their competition."

In addition to exclusive partnerships, Yext Tags also launches with numerous national brands already signed on to make use of this amazing new service, including Gold's Gyms, Banfield Pet Hospitals and others.  "Yext Tags is a great solution for advertising online, especially for a business like ours. With 770 hospitals across the country, we need our message to be far reaching and directed at the right audience," said Jeannine Taaffe, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Banfield Pet Hospitals. "By using Yext Tags, we have the ability to better highlight our listings as well as control and update our message instantly across the Web -- it's an incredibly exciting tool for our business."

Yext Tags is available now for only $99.95 per month with a no-obligation, seven day free trial.  Businesses can find more information and sign up online at http://www.yexttags.com.

About Yext

Yext brings the power of internet advertising to small businesses to help them grow. Yext offers free and premium online services that deliver local advertising of unprecedented quality. Yext advertising services make it easy for local businesses to target their customers in the most cost-effective way possible. More information can be found at www.yext.com.

SOURCE Yext