dh3325 - 6:15 pm on Nov 30, 2005 (gmt 0)

I know they are not and that is why our data is as accurate as it is and theirs is not. Which goes back to my original question. How do you get accurate information that is continually updated without manually checking it? I would love to do it but I have yet to find someone who can do it. My challenge to anyone who is out there. Tell me one site that can be considered accurate both in removing old listings, making sure that listing belong in a category or getting new businesses listed withing 6 months. I have people complain to me if they find a business that opened 1 month ago not listed when they look for it so you can imagine how often thew will return to sites that worse.

And you are right that eventually businesses will sign up because everyone else is doing it but even them I bet not more than 30-40% will and even that is probably 5 years away.

If I sound down on Local Search I apologize. I am not really, I just get tired of reading stories about the next great idea or way of doing things only to see the same lousy data. What we need is a realistic discussion on how to improve the data in the short term and how to maintain a reliable data stream in the future. What is happening now is that people are reading about Local Search in the mainstream media, thay rush out to look at the sites mentioned and see the same old thing and then my company comes in to list them in our "accurate" manually compliled yellow pages and they could care less. If we are going to get the press at least lets be ralistic about the data and come up with something that actually works. Right now I believe the only way to do it is to key the print yellow pages and then constantly update the data manually. I know some of the data providers say they do it but their info is not really any better and it is very costly. I would like to see someone with a better idea that show it works rather than talk about whats in the pipeline or how they have a new algorithem coming or something else. Lets see something that works so we can take advantage of the press and the increased interest in "Local Search"