The focus for vertical sites is likely to shift in coming months. In addition to regular features, such as listings, many vertical sites will also begin to blend personalized or on-demand “maintenance” information with various social media features such as scheduling and reviews.
We’ve seen it with garden and health sites, and also, increasingly, …

Moderator Peter Krasilovsky led a session Monday afternoon on how several leading vertical sites are successfully leveraging social media. As sites that are focused on a specific business, profession or user need, verticals will typically contain a directory, specialized editorial content, expert Q&A, advertising, etc. Panelists were:
-Mark Britton, CEO and President, Avvo
-Pete Flint, CEO, Trulia.com
-Matt …

Chuck Lee, AT&T’s executive director of Internet Ad Solutions, has a casual yet matter-of-fact way of delivering messages that stick. Based on results from the recent Vertical Shopper Study that AT&T commissioned, his message to the ILM East audience was clear: “You gotta know what people are looking for when you market.” The study highlights that …

Today brings two meaningful announcements in the answers space from SuperMedia and MerchantCircle. Answers is an area that seems to be getting more attention as a way for local merchants to differentiate themselves online and for local online media sites to generate social content that indexes well.

SuperMedia has unveiled a new beta “social platform” called …

AT&T has unveiled a new version of its Yellowpages.com online directory, complete with a new name (YP.com); a new algorithmic approach to search; updated maps; and a set of vertical integrations with leading partners in cars, hotels, events and movies.
AT&T Interactive GM Greg Isaacs told us in a briefing today that the site was redone …

Avvo, the free legal ratings and review site that has taken on the giant legal publishers that have long dominated the business, announced that it has raised $10 million in Series C funding. The new round adds to $13 million previously raised. The round was led by DAG Ventures, which joins existing investors Benchmark Capital …

G5 Search Marketing has broadened its vertical focus beyond self storage and now also serves senior housing, multi-family and student housing with its search services. All are aimed at “mid-market” players.
The company reports that its client base has grown more than 80 percent in the past year, and it now serves nearly 2,000 client locations …

Real-time reservations have moved beyond restaurants, hair salons and parking garages and are now being offered for self storage units. G5 Search Marketing, which specializes in self storage, has teamed with Centershift and United Stor-All Management to launch Web sites that integrate G5’s SEO and clickthrough solutions with unit availability, pricing, promotions and payment.
The effort …

Verticals that can engage certain demographics on a socio/geo basis and drive loyalty and conversion are the basis of our Marketplaces research program.  A new one that has caught our eye is WineTwits from HappyHours.com founder Steve Gilberg.  Three years ago, HappyHours and Lawn and Garden Search were among the first verticals that made us …