Comscore Announces Local Web Search Tracking Service

qSearch Local Reveals That U.S. Internet Users Conduct More Than 200 Million Localized Searches in One Month

RESTON, Va., March 2, 2004 – Comscore Networks, the leader in the use of the Internet to measure and understand consumer behavior, today announced the introduction of qSearch Local, the first service to measure localized Web search behavior. The new service is a fully integrated addition to the industry-leading Comscore qSearch system, which tracks actual consumer search queries across more than 25 major search engines, providing critical competitive insight into this fast-growing sector.

“An increasing portion of the $14-plus billion in U.S. yellow pages spending is moving online, offering huge upside to Internet yellow pages providers and Web search engines alike. Local search is at the epicenter of this transition, in terms of product development, revenue growth and competition,” said James Lamberti, vice president of Comscore Networks. “qSearch Local supplies search providers and industry analysts with the industry’s first objective, accurate and comprehensive understanding of competitive local search dynamics.”

By categorizing and analyzing search activity that includes local modifiers, such as city and state names, zip codes, phone numbers or the words “map” and “directions,” Comscore's qSearch Local accurately estimates the number, type and search engine of origin of local searches conducted by U.S. Internet users.

Using this methodology, Comscore research has found that in one month alone, approximately 36 million U.S. Internet users conducted more than 200 million searches that included local modifiers. This represents approximately 22 percent of U.S. Internet users and about 7 percent of all U.S. Web search activity. (Source: Comscore qSearch Local, October 2003.)

qSearch Local is available immediately. For more information about Comscore qSearch Local and other Comscore measurement solutions, please email searchsolutions@comscore.com.

About Comscore Networks
Comscore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior. This capability is based on a representative cross-section of more than 1.5 million global Internet users who have given Comscore explicit permission to confidentially capture their Web-wide browsing, buying and other transaction behavior, including offline purchasing. Through its patent-pending technology, Comscore measures what matters across the entire spectrum of surfing and buying behavior. This deep knowledge of customers and competitors helps clients design more powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, The Newspaper Association of America, Knight Ridder Digital, Best Buy, Verizon, Nestlé, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com