WeAreNetwork™: Not Just Any Local Search Engine

The major search engines realize how massive the local search business is quickly becoming and are hoping to capture the attention of web users and advertisers with their latest local search tools. Using a centrally-controlled corporate model and information back-filled from existing online directories, these mammoth companies are counting on their size to carry the day.

In sharp contrast, WeAreNetwork™ knows that the best online content can only be generated by real-live humans carefully selecting relevant listings. No algorithm or program can match this. Secondly, no corporation in Silicon Valley can know what the very best steak houses are in Barrie, Ontario, for example. A franchisee that lives right in the community will be unmatched both in terms of site content and ability to promote the site within the community.

Using the Vortaloptics™ patent-pending search engine technology, combined with a powerful franchise network of motivated, local entrepreneurs, WeAreNetwork™ is expected to capture a significant share of the ballooning local and topic-specific search market.

The first step to this process is to build the network infrastructure. In December of 2005, WeAreNetwork™ completed the national roll-out of its sites across Canada which included a design facelift. The new WeAreNetwork™ site design is a lot more than a just pretty face, it is loaded with search engine optimization (SEO) content which enable the sites to be found much more easily by the major search engines. That means more traffic.

What you see on your screen is the result of months of research and testing by WeAreNetwork’s™ IT team. Their major search engine rankings in the natural search results have skyrocketed in recent months. Try searching for “Toronto local search” or “Edmonton local search” at Google or MSN and chances are WeAreNetwork™ will be on page one. SEO and top rankings are an ongoing process and specific positioning can change week to week. While the company admits it is far from its ideal goals, significant progress has been made in getting in front of web users; just a few short months ago WeAreNetwork™ had very little presence in the major search engines.

Early in 2006, the number of Canadian cities introduced to the home page tripled in number – creating a truly national network of local search sites from coast to coast to coast. Their web development team is now working on rolling out the United States network of sites.

One of WeAreNetwork’s™ advantages in the local search market will be the overwhelming power of the network – hundreds of sites and franchisees building top quality sites and amassing a significant amount of traffic all over the continent. This, backed by a head office staff dedicated to supporting them as well as building network-wide traffic and national ad campaigns will ensure their success.

In the Web 2.0 world, you either keep growing, or you get left behind. The WeAreNetwork™ sites you see today will not be the same as the ones you see tomorrow. Even though the current generation of re-designed sites are barely half a year old, WeAreNetwork™ is already planning its next phase of design improvements. The goal is to make each city site so relevant that hundreds of thousands of web users will want to make their local WeAreNetwork™ site their home page and keep going back to find out information about their local community, or topic.

Stay tuned to your web browser for great things to come!

by Robert Gentile, Vice President, We Are Network Inc.