According to SEL:

“Ask.com is launching a new sponsored listings contextual product and will go live the week of May 21st. The Ask contextual product will initially launch within IAC’s own network of sites including Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite and Citysearch and will then expand to trusted third party publishers. Individual publishers will most likely have to wait until next quarter to gain access to this contextual product“.

What do you mean that isn’t a popular search term?

What I meant to say was Ask.com have released a local search service.

“ AskCity is unique because it integrates services from other Web properties owned by parent IAC/InterActiveCorp, which is run by media mogul Barry Diller. Those properties include CitySearch, ReserveAmerica, ServiceMagic, Ticketmaster, and TicketWeb. In addition, AskCity incorporates services from IAC partners“

“Local” of course meaning “Local In The Mainland US”. AskCity lacks an international perspective.

The local search market is one of those areas that has been hyped up big, but is taking a while to mature, presumably because small local businesses see online as a bit of a hassle. I have a question: do you think the search engines will be buying up Yellow Page/Business directories which have established customer bases?