Yodle Forms Strategic Alliance with Google to Bring AdWords to Small Businesses

Business Wire, April 21, 2008

Local Online Advertiser Yodle Sees 500% Year-Over-Year Growth Following a $12M Funding Round Led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson

NEW YORK -- Yodle, Inc., a leader in local online advertising and lead generation, announced today a strategic agreement with Google to become an authorized reseller of Google's AdWords[TM] advertising program. As a Google AdWords Authorized Reseller, the Yodle sales force is equipped to help local businesses efficiently tap into the power and reach of the Google AdWords online advertising platform. AdWords is a cost effective, efficient way for businesses of all sizes to advertise their products and services online at exactly the time their customers are looking for them.

Founded in 2005, New York-based Yodle makes it simple and easy for local service-oriented small businesses to find new customers by promoting them on the major search engines and a network of local sites. Yodle boasts years of experience providing high-quality customer service and measurable results for small business advertisers. Yodle will continue to offer its thousands of local customers around the country full-service AdWords account management on their behalf - from account setup and activation, to ongoing campaign maintenance and optimization.

"Most small businesses have not yet adopted online advertising since it requires specific tools, skills and more time than a busy small business owner is willing to spend. With this new agreement, Yodle is now better positioned than ever to connect small business owners to the consumers searching for their services on Google," said Yodle CEO Court Cunningham.

AdWords is Google's online advertising platform designed to help businesses use the Web to find new customers by delivering relevant ads when users search for specific products and services. Using the cost-per-click (CPC) model, businesses can select and bid on keywords related to what they are selling, and pay only when an interested user clicks on their ad. Recent studies show that Google and other leading search engines are quickly becoming the primary source for consumers to find local businesses. According to a Nielsen survey, 74% of people said they use search engines to find local business. Yet, only 3% of local marketing budgets are spent online.

"This strategic relationship is a landmark for us," said Yodle President and Founder Nathaniel Stevens. "The time is now for small business owners to work with Yodle to put their marketing budgets to use where consumer behavior has shifted. This alliance with Google makes Yodle a powerful option for small business owners looking to go online and get new customers and phone calls."

Yodle's approach to simplifying online advertising for local businesses has driven 500% revenue growth in the first quarter 2007 vs. first quarter 2008.

About Yodle

Yodle provides local businesses with a simple and affordable way to get new customers and phone calls using online advertising. Yodle, a company funded by Bessemer Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is transforming local online advertising by connecting local business owners with consumers in a simple, measurable and relevant way. Yodle has developed an integrated approach to signing up and serving local businesses that are transitioning their marketing budgets online. Yodle is headquartered in New York, NY with a presence in 18 major cities across the United States and has hundreds of employees helping thousands of customers. To find out more about Yodle, go to www.yodle.com.

Google and AdWords are trademarks of Google Inc.