Phil Castle
Business Times

Martin Duarte offers a testimony to the benefits of listing a company in a new online business directory.

Within days of adding Premier Signs & Neon to FindItLocalNow.com, the Grand Junction sign company was hired to install signs at a hotel. The response was greater and faster than Duarte, the owner of Premier Signs, had anticipated. “I was sold.”

Rick Nisley, a partner in the venture that developed FindItLocalNow.com, can’t necessarily guarantee a similar response for every business in the directory. But Nisley believes the comprehensive online directory strictly for the Grand Valley makes it faster and easier for potential customers to sort through the clutter of the Internet to find products and services — along with the local businesses that provide them. “They’ll not only find you, but they’ll find out about you,” he says.

The directory works the other way, too, in offering small businesses a venue in which to market over the Internet. The directory includes directions and tools that guide businesses through the process of creating a website with such features as coupons, maps and menus.

Nisley; his wife, Starr; and their daughter, Holly, have been working on the online business directory for more than a year. They launched what initially was called NoYellowPages.com in March, but rebranded the site as FindItLocalNow.com.

Rick Nisley says the directory features 7,500 listings, about 6,500 of those businesses. The directory also offers free listings for non-profit organizations. The directory offers several search methods: by category, business name or a key word.

Businesses can add their listings to the directory for free and include their names, telephone numbers, addresses and Google maps of their locations.

FindItLocalNow.com operates as a business by selling premium listings that include not only the basic information about businesses, but also customized Web pages containing documents, images, social media links and even video.

Premier Signs & Neon uses its Web page to present a photographic portfolio of the company’s work. Restaurants that have purchased premium listings include menus. Businesses with premium listings also appear in bold in searches.

Premium listings sell for $495 a year for the first category, with discounted rates for additional categories.

Nisley says FindItLocalNow.com is different from other online directors in several ways. “First of all, it’s local. That’s the biggest thing.”

What’s more, there are no pop-up ads on FindItLocalNow.com, nor will there ever be, he says. Still another distinguishing feature is the designation of businesses that offer products and services 24 hours a day.

Nattana Johnson owns Monument Graphics in Grand Junction, which helped develop FindItLocalNow.com in one of the biggest website projects in which the firm has been involved.

Johnson says the directory is unique in offering small businesses a venue in which to establish a Web presence without the substantial expertise or costs usually involved in that undertaking.

Nisley says the use of FindItLocalNow.com has increased to top 8,300 page views a month, nearly a quarter of those new visits. The average visit includes more than five pages and lasts nearly five minutes. People can access the directory not only on computers, but also smart phones.

Nisley says he expects the use of online directories like FindItLocalNow.com to increase as people rely more and more on computers and mobile devices to search out and obtain information about local businesses.

Judging from his own experience in listing his business on FindItLocalNow.com, Duarte agrees. “I think more and more people are using the Internet.”

Source URL: http://thebusinesstimes.com/?p=1407

(Sept 1, 2010) In Oct 2001, the iPod was released to the public. People had been sitting on their hands waiting for release of a product touted with a secretive message from Steve Jobs: “It’s not a Mac.”  Many speculated that it was a hand-held music device, and most were less than enthused. Why? Because MP3 players had been out for years, and because it was only for Mac users. Jump forward almost 10 years and you can hardly find someone without an iPod. It has become a landmark product – simply because it was better, sleeker, and sexier than the MP3 players.

It goes to show you, there is room for improvement in products and services — and improvement comes by researching and studying the way people use those products or services. That is exactly what FINDitLOCALNow.com seeked to do. They realized that most people turn to their computers and mobile devices first when they look for business listings. Some people still use phone books, but the vast majority of searches are done online now. People want streamlined information at their fingertips, quickly and easily, from wherever they are. The team at FINDitLOCALNow.com watched while people searched Google and as they shuffled through the clutter of national advertisers. So they set out to make a product that was simply better in every way. In a community of the size of Grand Junction, there was a need to help people find truly LOCAL businesses because they had trouble finding what they wanted. No longer!

FINDitLOCALNow.com provides results that are LOCAL and instant:, as their name says…

• Businesses have the opportunity to compete locally, not against national advertisers.
• Local businesses have the space to tell their entire message and not be limited to a small 2″ x 2″ ad.
• Businesses can offer customers menus, coupons, events, photos, and relevant local information.
• Businesses can update their information when they change location, staff or add product and services – at any time with no additional cost.

Online directories aren’t new, but be assured FINDitLOCALNow.com is BETTER. The results are quick, easy and relevant to our area. It is a truly superior directory, giving customers exactly what they want.

Yet another advantage to FINDitLOCALNOW.com — it is an environmentally conscious solution. With the 500 million phone books distributed each year, and less than 20% being recycled, they felt it was their responsibility to help save resources. “For today’s technologically savvy consumers, it is a natural progression to provide something that is better, faster and cheaper. We simply believe it is the way of the future. “ remarks Holly Nisley, Head of Business Development and Customer Care. FINDitLOCALNOW.com’s goal is to always listen to consumers and to the needs of small businesses and to provide the tools that help them do their jobs.

FINDitLOCALNow.com, formerly NoYellowPages.com, is an invaluable resource providing not only listings, but also company web pages or other company details. It’s all the local, relevant business information a customer needs, at the touch of a phone or keyboard.

Media Contacts

Nattana Johnson, Public Relations Representative
Monument Graphics & Communications
970-242-4311

Nattana@MonumentGraphics.com
MGCBlog, F/B, Twitter

Rick Nisley, Partner
FINDitLOCALNow.com

(970) 424-5505
Rick@FINDitLOCALNow.com

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FINDitLOCALNow.com, FILN Blog, F/B, Twitter, LinkedIn

We are involved in many local area non-profits and we know the many people who endlessly volunteer their time to help our community with these great groups. As part of our commitment to the community we are offering all non-profits a FREE premium membership. We believe it will be a great outlet for non-profits to communicate with the public and meet their goals without costing them a penny.

Get started, add your group today!

We started with the simple idea of making it easier for everyone in the valley to find and do business with local merchants.  That idea became NoYellowPages.com.  It has become the most COMPLETE, DYNAMIC, AFFORDABLE and CONTROLABLE way to promote your business here in the valley.

NoYellowPages.com is COMPLETE.  Every business in the Grand Valley has a free listing that is linked to a Goggle map, helping consumers find them.

NoYellowPages.com is DYNAMIC.  It is On-Line & not on dead trees.  New businesses can list themseleves and not have to wait for a publication date.  If, heaven forbid, there is a mistake in the phone number or address, it can be fixed immediately.  Every business has the ability to go to NoYellowPages.com and “claim” their business and make changes as needed.  Plus, any new business can create a listing for them self.   NoYellowPages.com is directly linked to over 250 Internet communication tools including “Facebook”, “Twitter” and “LinkedIn”.

NoYellowPages.com is AFFORDABLE.  Anyone desiring to promote their business can become a Premium Member.  This will allow them to upload a logo, photos, PDFs, menus, coupons, video testimonials, etc. on to their premium webpage.  This service is less than $20 a month. We provide a new Media for all the advertising you are already doing; NoYellowPages.com links to YOUR print, TV, Radio, Magazine and Internet marketing.

NoYellowPages.com is CONTROLABLE.  With your Premium Listing, you control the content of your webpage.  For example, you can change a coupon daily, use the PDF feature to add a newsletter, or even add a YouTube link.  The possibilities are endless.

This is a great Solution for any business that doesn’t already have a website. If your company has invested in a web site, we are optimizing our site in Google for better results, and we are a more LOCAL, less crowded advertising solution.  A Win – Win for everyone.