• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Sensis Launches eStara Click to Call Beta; Leading Australian Search Engine Offers Pay Per Call Model to Advertisers

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 12:00 CST

Earlier this week, Sensis - Australia's leading information resource - launched a pay-per-call pilot on its search engine, sensis.com.au, powered by eStara's click to call technology.

With the click of a button, users of sensis.com.au - the search engine for Australians, can initiate a phone conversation with advertisers. The partnership was announced at this week's Kelsey Group Interactive Local Media 2005 (ILM:05) conference.

"Sensis is very excited to offer Australia's first 'Click to Call' solution, a leading edge technology," said Alex Parsons, Group Manager sensis.com.au. "We're committed to delivering innovative advertising solutions and encourage advertisers to participate in the trial to help grow their business, by driving direct phone leads from search results."

The service will be offered by Sensis at flat-rate pricing through the pilot. The company plans on migrating to auction-based pricing in 2006 and expects advertisers to pay a higher rate due to the increased value of phone leads in comparison to clicks to a website. Calls are free to the end-user.

Further expansion of the service will include deployment of call tracking numbers in addition to the click to call buttons. Built on eStara's VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) platform, the service tracks inbound phone activity for toll-free numbers and provides real-time reporting and number provisioning.

Analysts predict pay per call advertising to become a $4 to $5 billion industry by 2009. "We're seeing rapid acceptance of pay per call in the local search market," said John Federman, CEO of eStara. "By providing this service to its advertisers, Sensis is showing that they are thought-leaders in the industry."

To measure customer satisfaction, Sensis is offering post-call surveys to end-users. eStara surveys of directory customers have found over 92 percent of click to call users said that they would be more likely to contact an advertiser that offers click to call over one that does not, and 95 percent of users said a click to call option made it more likely that they would visit again in the future.

Plus, nearly 90 percent of users said that click to call "greatly" or "significantly" enhanced their experience using online directories.

About Sensis:

Sensis is Australia's leading information resource, making complex lives simpler by helping Australians find, buy and sell. Sensis delivers innovative and integrated search solutions via print, online, voice and wireless channels to connect Australians 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its powerful, multi-channel portfolio provides an unparalleled local information source incorporating: the White Pages(R) and Yellow Pages(R) directories; the CitySearch(R) lifestyle site; the Whereis(R) location and navigation database; the search engine for Australians sensis.com.au; and sensis 1234, the operator-assisted, premium voice information service; and The Trading Post Group's stable of weekly and monthly publications and Universal Publisher's mapping publications. Invizage Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sensis is one of Australia's market leaders in IT services to small and medium sized enterprises. In June 2005, Sensis launched LinkMe.com.au, an innovative online career networking site in partnership with MBI Investments.

About eStara:

eStara (www.estara.com) provides the world's most robust and widely deployed "click to call" service, with more than three million users in 113 countries. eStara's IP telephony infrastructure seamlessly transitions consumers, together with the context of their online session, into immediate telephone or PC-based voice contact with the business. The same patented base technology drives eStara's Track the Call(SM), a flexible, scalable call tracking and monitoring service that supports pay-per-call and subscription revenue models with the largest inventory of local and toll-free phone numbers in the industry.

Founded in 1999, eStara now serves over 350 global enterprises across many industries including directory and on-line publishing, financial services, travel and hospitality, and online retail. Customers include Amazon.com's A9.com, Apple Computer, Continental Airlines, DaimlerChrysler, Dell Financial Services, Hilton Hotels, Sensis, Verizon's Superpages.com and Yahoo! UK & Ireland.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category