Web 2.0 meets local search?

Curious about how Web 2.0 impacts local search?

“Web 2.0 & Local Search” was the topic du jour at this afternoon’s Local Ad World mini-conference in New York City.

The answer in a nut shell? Google.

Yes, $148 billion (and counting) market cap Google rules not only in search, but in Web 2.0, local…according to none other than Interactive Corp, owner of Google competitors Ask.com and Citysearch!

Kara Nortman, VP M & A, IAC/InterActive Corp. was seated next to Dominic Preuss, Product Manager, Google, and seized the opportunity to give the nod to Google several times for being a “democratizing” force online, which she characterized as a “beautiful thing!”

Nortman praised Google’s “self-service portal,” although Citysearch has invested heavily in a direct sales force.

Nortman also decried the low percentage of small businesses on the Web, saying there has to be easier ways for SMEs to get online. Citysearch.com’s pitch to SMEs, however, touts the ease of working with Citysearch: 

A Citysearch editor will work with you to create a business profile that conveys the unique aspects of your business and describes your products and services.

Citysearch Executive Vice President, Sales and Merchant Acquisition, Neil Salvage, has the mission, in fact, to demonstrate “the power of Citysearch’s local search advertising solutions to every small business in the United States.”

Salvage also has the mission to identify “external opportunities to enhance the Citysearch.com advertising value proposition.” Perhaps that is why Nortman recognized Google publicly today for being such a valuable “partner” to Citysearch. 

Industry estimates of the cost to Citysearch for its “partnership” with Google have pegged Citysearch’s AdWords annual “investment,” aimed at redirecting Google traffic to Citysearch, in the $100 million dollar range.