Local Ad Sellers Improving, Marchex Upgrades Platform

The speed with which local advertisers shift their budgets online has everything to do with how easy ad sellers (see: Certified Marketing Representatives) make the process. This can be accomplished by bundling online ad buys with traditional ones, or by offering ad giveaways and other promotions. By and large though, it’s up to the principle ad vehicles — such as yellow pages and search platforms — to create tidy packages for the little guys.

We learned earlier this week that Yellow Pages providers are making a swift and efficient transition to the Web. Now local ad player Marchex has unveiled its own set of improvements.

The company has released Connect 2.0, a new version of its ad platform that unites its offerings to local marketers. The system integrates a number of Marchex holdings, including those of pay-per-call ad technology firm VoiceStar — acquired by Marchex a year ago.

The new system also adds business profile page, two pricing models for performance-based campaigns (guaranteed and budget-based), and the creation of a Digital Platform Group that offers resources to Marchex’s reseller partners as they seek to transition their regional business prospects to the Web medium.