Zip2 Signs Excite Traffic and Yellow Pages Deal

City guide and directory company Zip2 Corp. signed an agreement with Excite Inc. to be the provider of Yellow Pages throughout the Excite and WebCrawler services.

As a result of the agreement, Zip2 said it will gain access to Excite traffic and distribute it to its 160 media affiliates, allowing them to leverage their local brands and thus more effectively sell online advertising to local businesses.

The deal marks the launch of a national strategy for Zip2 and is the first of several deals anticipated in the coming months, the company said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Consumers will have access to more than 16 million local business listings with over 6,000 local Web sites including online shopping specials and coupons through Zip2 and Excite, the company said. The service is scheduled to begin in September.

“Through the Excite Network, Zip2 will now reach a national audience and provide millions of Web visitors with easy access to local business and shopping information,” said Elon Musk, founder and executive vice president of Zip2.

Zip2’s Yellow Pages will also be available at Excite in September 1998.