We published a new Advisory today in The Kelsey Report that examines the recent deal between European Directories SA (which publishes print and online directories in eight European markets) and the VoIP giant Skype, with its 480 million worldwide users.

The deal has the potentially to dramatically increase the number of leads EDSA can drive to its small-business advertisers by making the Skype calls free to Skype users. It also has a quasi-SEO element in that it can help drive more clickthroughs in Google 7 Pack for EDSA advertisers featuring the blue free calling button.

For the past several months, my colleague Mike Boland has been following the advance of Skype’s local search and small-business strategy and its growing involvement with directory publishers as strategic partners here on the Local Media Blog.

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