Last October 31, online iPod accessory, iWorld.com, announced a new Yellowpages.com-endorsed application that will give iPod users the chance to find details on local businesses and mapping information.

Created by Yellowpages.com in the US, the new innovative system was created specifically for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, bringing the company’s directory services to a new, mobile audience. This is exciting news, especially in the emerging, progressive realm of mobile search.

iPhone users can now easily find local businesses and services by going to www.yellowpages.com on their Safari browser and inputting a search term or category and location. Users can also access additional details such as user ratings, mapping, driving directions and automatically dial a business with the tap of a finger.

The application is also free to download, can be accessed through iPod manufacturer Apple’s “web app” site.

Yellowpages.com’s release of the new application has come after the AT&T subsidiary also launched other wireless search engines for mobile devices. Mobile phone users in the US can access information by texting a business name and postcode to YP411, while laptop users can also use the service through an optimized WAP browser.

The release of the new application for the iPod Touch follows the launch of a weather application for the device. WeatherBug’s web application can be used for international weather information and streaming videos of forecasts.

Last week, the new YellowPages.travel was finally launched. The new travel-savvy search site allows users to search leading travel websites such as Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline, Kayak, HotWire, SideStep, TravelZoo and other major travel websites side-by-side (and on one screen) without having to search each website individually.

YellowPages.travel has found the solution for travelers that are tired of searching over a dozen or more travel websites looking for bargains. A tool that enables users to enter their travel and flight information once and have the results pages of the major travel sites placed on one screen.

For travelers that want to search only two websites side by side, the site offers a feature called “Search Both” where any two travel websites are placed side by side on one screen. (This technology was obtained from a subsidiary company called SearchBoth.com, in which Google and Yahoo are placed side by side on one screen.) Isn’t that a cool?

“Most people initially think we are similar to SideStep and Kayak, but we’re not, said Matt Richards of YellowPages. They do not search the top 12 travel sites. They are travel aggregators and make a business out of aggregating the individual airlines websites.

Travel aggregators (which include Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, SideStep, Kayak and others) all negotiate different prices and availability with their suppliers, the airlines and hotels. Each of them will show different prices and availability for the same search.

According to Richards, there are 12 top travel sites in total, and American consumers are searching between 2 to 6 travel sites before making a decision. It’s a tedious process that entails having to enter information over and over again.

Why not search one site that searches them all and avoid going through each website one by one? YellowPages.travel is more of a tool than anything else, adds Richards. If the major travel sites search the independent airlines and hotels while negotiating different deals with each one, then who is searching the major travel sites? This is where YellowPages.travel comes in. Even if you use SideStep or Kayak, it doesn’t hurt to see the results of the other top 10 travel sites either.”

In addition, they will also offer a business directory for travel related businesses. Similar to YellowPages.com, YellowPages.travel is equally as comprehensive but specifically targets the travel industry.

When you think about it there is so much opportunity to provide consumer value with vertical and niche sites. The YellowPages publishers are positioned to take a leadership role in this arena. They just need a kick in the ‘you know’ to get creative and explore the myriad of revenue possibilities.

Google Earth is taking YouTube Videos to new heights, the ClickZ Network reported recently. The search giant is now providing YouTube videos connected to specific locations within Google Earth by allowing what they call the geotagging of videos.

Although Google is hyping up the availability of videos linked to specific locations on the Google Earth map as yet another means of sharing interesting information, it didn’t take the Kelsey Group long to figure out that the service also provides some new advertising opportunities as well.

It’s not hard to see how those in the travel industry or in local business might utilize geotargeted video advertisements, linked through Google Earth, to bring in business, Matthew Nelson of ClickZ notes.

Considering that Google has just recently been experimenting with its video content distribution network and how to link YouTube videos and Google resources together, Nelson adds, that the idea has obviously occurred to the folks at Google as well.

There has been lots of discussion about value-based pricing models in the directory industry but for the most part it has been just that, talk. One of the first companies in North America to go whole hog and test a new pricing model is a new entrant to the world of yellow pages publishing, CanWest Media works.

CanWest Global Communications Corp, the mother company, is Canada’s largest integrated media company owning television stations, specialty cable channels, 23 daily newspapers and a host of internet portals including the popular Canada.com URL.

CanWest has based its new directories on an innovative pay-per-call pricing model that provides call tracking for every display ad larger than an eighth of a page. Advertisers love it because they only pay for the leads the directory brings their business. The cost per lead is determined based on positioning and on industry research on conversion ratios per heading. On the outset of the contract a cap is set on what the yearly cost will be to achieve the necessary ROI.

It’s a gutsy move but preliminary results show this approach is paying off for advertisers in Ottawa. In several of the top headings the ads have paid for themselves in the first three months  and that is without full distribution.

One of the other keys to CanWest’s success is its ability to integrate the power of its local directories with the strength of its network of properties including online brands and classified sites, 23 daily newspapers, various local broadcast stations that support advertising sales and promote the directory usage.

Ecstatic with the results from its first directory CanWest is already pushing ahead with directories for Regina, Saskatoon, and Gatineau, Quebec. Future directories are likely in markets where they have newspaper properties.