Business.com is an Internet search engine and web directory targeted primarily to an executive and corporate management audience. The company of the same name also operates a pay per click advertising network focused on the business-to-business market.
History
Business.com, Inc. was founded in 1999 by Jake Winebaum, previously chairman of the Walt Disney Internet Group; and Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink, Boingo Wireless, and Helio, among others.[1] Around that time, the Business.com domain name was purchased from Marc Ostrofsky by Winebaum's eCompanies Ventures for a then record $7.5 million.[2]. This represented a tidy profit over the $150,000 price tag of the domain in 1997, also a record in its own time.[3] In addition to investment by eCompanies, early funding in the amount of $61 million was provided in 2000 by Pearson PLC, Reed Business Information, McGraw Hill, and others.[4] In its initial form, Business.com aimed to be the Internet's leading search engine for small business and corporate information.[5]
As with much of the nascent and well-hyped Internet industry, Business.com struggled through the Dot-com bubble years.[6] The company retooled beginning in 2002 after massive layoffs and a new focus on developing a pay for performance ad network model.[7] In April 2003, the company achieved profitability, and on November 8, 2004, having survived the collapse of the dot-com bubble, the company secured an additional $10 million in venture capital funding from Benchmark Capital.
On October 9, 2006, Business.com launched Work.com, a site with business how-to guides contributed by the small business community.[8]
Then on July 26, 2007, after beating out Dow Jones & Company, the New York Times Company, IAC, and News Corp, telephone directory publisher R.H. Donnelley Corporation announced plans to acquire Business.com in a deal valued at $345 million.[9] The deal closed on August 23, 2007.[10][11]
Business Model
Business.com compiles search results from a combination of sources and applies a proprietary categorization scheme to organize the information gathered. Results to user queries may include suggested categories, sponsored links from the Business.com directory, and relevant web sites as provided in partnership with Google. The Business.com directory organization was developed by industry experts and library scientists and contains more than 400,000 listings within about 65,000 industry, product, and service categories. [12]
The search results page also includes relevant content from the Work.com web site when available.
The pay for performance Business.com Advertising Network distributes paid advertiser listings across a number of business-focused web sites. Some key partners within the ad network have at times included (non-exhaustive list)[13]:
External links
References
- ^ Rose, Frank (2006-03). "Sky Dayton Gets Mobile". Wired. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "One Word Domain Name Sales Reach Record Levels". PR.com (2008-06-11). Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ Wingfield, Nick (1997-06-04). "Domain name fetches record price". News.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "Business.com Secures New Round of Financing; Growth Potential of Business Search Drives $10 Million Investment from Benchmark Capital". bNet (Business Wire) (2004-11-08). Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ Loftus, Peter (2004-12-08). "SOMETHING VENTURED: Renewed VC Interest In A Pricey Name". business.com (Dow Jones Newswires). Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "Dot-Com Layoffs and Shutdowns". The Wall Street Journal Online (2001-11-28). Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Business.com's winding road". CNNMoney.com (2008-05-02). Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "Work.com launches to help small busineses tackle their most important business tasks". Business.com (2006-10-09). Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "R.H. Donnelley to Acquire Business.com Inc.". Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ "Business.com, Inc.". BusinessWeek. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ Ali, Rafat (2007-07-26). "Business.com Sold To RH Donnelley; Beating DJ, NYT and News Corp; Price $345 Million". paidcontent.org. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- ^ "Business.com - About Us" (overview), Business.com, Inc., 2006, webpage: BusinessCom-About-Us.
- ^ "Business.com Network Partners page". Business.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
- ^ "The Wall Street Journal Online partners with B-to-B search leader Business.com". Business.com (2007-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
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