BOTW Local Goes Beta
Posted June 18th, 2008 by GregAnybody working online can attest to the wisdom in planning for twice the time and money that you forecast for any project. We have learned that if you are planning on doing something in the local space, you’d better be prepared to double that a couple of times more.
After nearly two years of research and development, BOTW has brought it’s local product, BOTW Local to public beta. Though still a little clunky along parts of the ride, the BOTW Local offering provides users with details on over 16 million businesses and local information from cities throughout the United States. The initial list of cities that we spent time working on include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Miami.
BOTW Local is a free service where users can rate and review local businesses, find information including phone numbers, location, directions, hours of operation, and more. It’s not cluttered like other local offerings, with ease of use at the center of our development efforts. Users can search for businesses in a specific city, or browse categories for each city. Users can see businesses on a map, and find out further information about businesses by visiting the business details page for individual businesses.
BOTW Local is also free for business owners. Business owners can claim their business with our free JumpStart page, where the business owner can provide users with additional information about the business. For owners looking for increased visibility, we offer the Premium business listings and Sponsored business opportunities. Each option provides the business owner with a great opportunity to cost effectively reach users in their community.
We have much more planned for BOTW Local (outside of smoothing out those bumps). Stay tuned for more social features, and enhanced account management. We’re continually striving to offer users and businesses the best possible experience, and we look forward to providing additional features in the months to come.
We hope that you enjoy our newest offering, and we welcome any feedback you may have.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Looks great. You guys did an awesome job. I will definitely try this Local product in the future.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
[...] 23rd, 2008 by Eric Lander, Associate Editor | No Comments submit_url =”http://www.searchenginejournal.com/best-of-the-web-launches-botw-local-beta/7184/”; Having worked tirelessly for the past two years, Best of the Web (BOTW) announced the launch of BOTW Local Beta on June 18th. While still considered a Beta release, BOTW Local shows us exactly what a quality local search experience is all about. [...]
June 24th, 2008 at 3:56 am
great, but should be integrated with the directory so if you have a page listed you should be able to see the address.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
[...] Best of the Web (BOTW) has recently announced the launch of BOTW Local Beta on June 18th 2008. While this will still be considered as a Beta release, BOTW Local shows you exactly what a quality local search experience should be like. [...]
July 1st, 2008 at 9:03 am
[...] BOTW Local Goes Beta BOTW showcases a new offering, BOTW Local. Definitely worth checking out. [...]
July 21st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
[...] Having worked tirelessly for the past two years, Best of the Web (BOTW) announced the launch of BOTW Local Beta on June 18th. While still considered a Beta release, BOTW Local shows us exactly what a quality local search experience is all about. [...]
October 24th, 2008 at 1:05 am
[...] DM: You mentioned in your initial release notes that you were going to be rolling out BOTW Local in phases. Can you talk a little more about the reasoning behind that decision? How has it worked for you guys thus far? Are all locations now rolled out for the public AND search engines? [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 12:40 am
[...] BOTW Local Goes Beta BOTW showcases a new offering, BOTW Local. Definitely worth checking out. [...]