• by Erik Sass , April 7, 2010

The McClatchy Co. is set to introduce a new online advertising and marketing platform that aims to increase the visibility of the newspaper publisher's local advertising clients.

McClatchy hopes the online platform for local advertisers, produced in partnership with WebVisible, will help attract and retain more local online ad dollars -- a growing marketplace (and contested battleground) in the online ad arena.

The WebVisible service helps local advertisers raise their visibility in newspaper listings, Web sites, search engines and mobile phones, with a focus on search-engine marketing. It also includes banner and display ads and online video.

The company offers landing page optimization, call tracking, and promotional URLs. McClatchy has already tested the service in Fresno, Calif., Kansas City and Tacoma, Washington.

The last year has seen a number of partnerships between online ad companies and newspapers seeking to give their local advertising clients a leg up on the Web -- or recruit local advertisers that were never on the Web in the first place.

In August 2009, Hearst signed a deal with PaperG to introduce its online Flyerboard ad service at various newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union and San Antonio Express-News, specifically targeting smaller local advertisers.

PaperG's Flyerboard service is designed to make online advertising easier and more attractive for local advertisers by allowing them to post small "flyer" ads on a virtual bulletin board alongside ads from other local businesses. The advertiser interface is integrated into the virtual billboard, with a small note inviting users to post an ad.