Business 2.0 has reported that Google Maps, the 3D mapping service of search giant Google, will begin paying users for taking digital photos of local shops and verifying their operating hours and payment options. The idea is to create a digital Yellow Pages to layer on top of Google Maps, the article stated.

The new Business Referral program will effectively turn Google Maps users into paid contractors, in which representatives can earn $10 for supplying information. More specifically, Google will pay $2 for basic contact information and $8 for getting the company to verify it by sending a postcard or approving it online.

Referrals are approved by Google based on the completeness and quality of data supplied by representatives. As long as their earnings total at least $25 a month, representatives will receive a monthly check.

These referral efforts could also have long-term financial benefits. These representatives will also tell each small business about Google’s AdWords programs in the hope that they’ll sign up to buy ads across Google’s sites, the article added.

The move is important for the search giant as it competes with the mapping and Yellow Pages services of Yahoo, AOL and MSN. The most comprehensive service will likely rule the nascent mobile market, too. Local and map search are becoming integral parts of the mobile experience, as users with smartphones are most likely to search for relevant local information.

If Google can create the most comprehensive directory of local venues, it will have both a better shot at recruiting them as advertisers, and a more comprehensive local product.

At a recent Where 2.0 conference in San Jose, California, the subject of 3D Mapping was the hot topic of discussion, specifically the so-called 3D Data arms race between Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and others Web companies spending fortunes vying to have developers use their platforms for cityscapes.

Much has been written about Google Earth and Google Street View, and the fact that Microsoft’s Virtual Earth 3D has taken a significant lead in 3D imaging of cities, with one million buildings done, including 50,000 in New York City alone.

Though many of these sites are being improved for better access, realism and scale, with graphics going beyond mere terrain to actual buildings and storefronts, it may still take a couple of years before 3D becomes the de facto standard in local search.

Though, as early as now, it is very clear that insertion of location-targeted ads in such sites will become extremely promising in the near future.

One such venue is UpNext (www.UpNext.com), a 3D city guide that offers user ratings and reviews, which is best described as a cross between Yelp and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. Like their competitor EveryScape, UpNext belongs to a next-generation cluster of local search sites which are seeking to build more immersive experiences for users.

Rather than sifting through pages and links of data, UpNext enables web browsers to glide around [their] city, virtually. Their virtual rendition of Manhattan is now live, as well as social features that invite users to explore and review the city’s wide assortment of shops, restaurants, and venues in 3D.

Instead of APIs that map sites like Google Maps and Mapquest rely on, the UpNext uses local data, making it more current and flexible. And if their virtual, user-friendly model of Manhattan proves successful, other major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles may be replicated next.

Since recent 3D surveys have shown that the demand for personalized may be hotter than advanced imagery, UpNext is definitely headed in the right direction.

The Financial Post reported that with the Yellow Pages Income Fund solid second quarter results, analyst Barbara Gray reaffirmed her “buy” rating and $15.50 price target. But Gray warned that her optimistic recommendation could be negatively affected as credit and private equity markets take a downward turn.

“Our $15.50 target includes a $2 leveraged buyout takeout premium, which may be at risk given recent weakness in credit and private equity markets,” Gray stated in a note to clients. “Without this premium, the upside is more limited.”

She also added that despite the current success of the Yellow Pages, it remains susceptible to the continuing shift away from print-based directory services to online services. Yellow Pages is currently in a sweet spot with near-monopoly status in the print market, she told clients, adding the company’s online business has so far been able to leverage its strong brand name, customer goodwill and existing infrastructure.

But with print usage expected to decline from 40% to 22% over the next 20 years, the article stated, the presence of online disrupters could eventually erode the advertiser and user base of the Yellow Pages.

Though I agree with Gray’s buy rating, I disagree with her forecast on the decline of print usage. Hard copy remains the most convenient medium to use, offering a unique opportunity for comparison shopping that the Internet simply does not provide.

Yellow Pages publishers are committed to ensuring the content is relevant, and that their hard copy products deliver the best value for advertisers. The Yellow Pages Group in Canada conducts close to 50 research projects a year with such well-known research firms as TNS Canadian Facts, Angus Reid Strategies, and Ad Hoc Research.

Despite a few negative forecasts reported in the media, I believe the hard copy editions of Yellow Pages will continue to deliver dreams at the speed of a touch. The key to continued usage will be rich, entertaining, and relevant content and the availability of the product in various formats.

A recent article on Search Engine Land reported comScore conducted an online survey that showed how the Internet is driving offline retail transactions in increasing numbers.

Utilizing 3,000 respondents, the survey sought to capture consumer attitudes and behavior toward traditional local media (print yellow pages) and local search. Apart from revealing the accelerating growth of local search usage, other noteworthy findings include:

82% of Local Searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call, or purchase, emphasizing the importance for marketers to integrate their on and offline information. Of these, 61% made purchases.
33% of all consumers still consider print yellow pages as their primary source of local business info, and 90% feel it’s valuable because it gives more information such as accurate phone numbers.
The LS business grew 20% this year, 40% faster than general searches on Google, Yahoo, MSN and others.
Internet Yellow Page and local searchers are savvy and fairly affluent.

The print yellow pages also showed strength in the study. As indicated, it was the preferred medium for local business information among 33 percent of users, which is striking given that this was an online panel and, one would imagine, biased toward Internet usage, wrote Greg Sterling in his Screenworks blog.

Sterling also added that although traditional media no longer has the control and influence it once did, they are far from being marginalized. Stay tuned!

Yellow Pages publisher R.H. Donnelley purchases Business.com

A few industry pundits poked fun at Business.com when the business-focused search engine payed a record $7.5 million for their domain name in 1999.

But since the company morphed from a business news portal into a business ad network five years ago, Business.com has become a veritable powerhouse. They now reach over 25 million users a week across Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and CNET, with more than 7,000 advertisers.

Based in Santa Monica, California, Business.com is one of the leading business-to-business search engine, directory, and pay-per-click advertising networks.

They company helps business decision makers conveniently locate what they need to manage and grow their businesses, and at the same time allow advertisers to reach them across the Internet through premier partners such as The Wall Street Journal Online, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Hoovers.

In October of last year, they also launched Work.com, a business community publishing platform with more than 1,700 business how-to guides contributed by business experts.

Two weeks ago, the L.A. Times reported that R.H. Donnelley Corp., a publisher of Yellow Pages phone directories, agreed to purchase the search engine website for a whopping $345 million. The announcement ended a heated auction period that initially included such bidders as IAC, New York Times, DJ and News Corp.

Business.com CEO Jake Winebaum will be appointed as President of RHD’s interactive unit (RHDi), which will now include DexKnows.com, LocalLaunch search engine marketing company, Business.com, Work.com and the Business.com Advertising Network.

Business.com has 100 employees and will have revenue of $50 million this year, the article reported. The search engine currently serves more than 6,000 business-to-business advertisers.