• by Tameka Kee , October 9, 2007

New York-based Yodle, an online marketing and lead generation firm, has beefed up its management team, adding four industry vets from the search, sales, finance and Web tech sectors to its growing corporate office.

Ed Caminiti, former controller for Time Warner's WarnerVision Entertainment, will serve as Yodle's vice president of finance, while Joel Laffer has been named director of marketing. Laffer most recently managed online marketing programs at Register.com, a small business-focused domain name registration and Internet services firm.

Ron Merritt, former vice president of Sales for IAC/InterActiveCorp's Lending Tree, will serve as regional sales manager for the Mid Atlantic division, while Kwong Young will serve as Yodle's head of research. Young comes to the company from Washington, DC-based vertical search firm IT.com, where he served as lead scientist.

Funded by Bessemer Venture Partners, Yodle focuses on generating and tracking search and Internet Yellow Page-driven phone leads for the small- to-medium-sized business market. Yodle's suite of services includes keyword bid management and optimization, landing page creation, and analytics.

With clients like Mausner Plastic Surgery Center and Maria Romia Bridal spending between $500 and $2,000 on average per month, Yodle aims to keep budgets low by supplementing direct account management with automation throughout the process.

Unique landing pages, for example, are generated from a set of templates that produce more than 400 possible themes; while a server-side dashboard lists demo and geographical details of lead sources, call duration and outcome. The company also consults with small businesses to use lead analysis (like daily and weekly trends) to plan in-house promotions, and address call center staffing and training issues.

It's this blend of technology and consulting that has helped Yodle achieve a 300% jump in revenue (and an increase in staff from 5 to 60 people) since its launch in 2006. The firm also operates offices out of Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston, and continues to grow by developing in-house technology and tapping experienced industry talent.