• by Tameka Kee , June 14, 2007

ComScore released its first-quarter 07 Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) search rankings, and although Yahoo held onto its spot as market share leader, analysts say the findings reveal a fragmented market rife with opportunity.

Consumers conducted more than 800 million IYP search queries in the first three months of the year, with Yahoo serving some 22% of those searches. Idearc Media was a close second with almost 20%, while Yellowpages Network took a third of the market with almost 18%.

The remaining searches came from a mix of sites, with giants like Google and Time Warner Network hovering in the ranks with newcomers such as Local.com. Collectively, these sites represented some 40% of IYP searches overall, a factor that analysts say points to the market's immaturity.

"There is no true leader in local search," said Stuart McKelvey, CEO of TMP Directional Marketing. "Consumers are making the transition from print to Internet, and the big media properties haven't figured out how to really deliver it yet."

IYP search's overall growth from last year was a modest 5%, but two sites--the Yellow Book Network and Local.com--experienced double-digit share increases. Analysts attribute Yellow Book Network's 85% increase to an innovative national advertising campaign, and Local.com's 18% increase to the company's rollout of diversified small business offerings.

According to McKelvey, "a campaign like Yellow Book's can really increase awareness of what's available, which is why you see a surge of usage." Still, the IYP space offers a host of opportunities, both for search providers and advertisers, especially as mobile Web usage increases. "Local search is still a very frustrating process," said McKelvey, "but it will definitely grow as providers educate consumers on how to use it."