Citysearch
Encyclopedia
Citysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city guides will find contact information, maps, driving directions, editorial, and user reviews for the businesses listed. Citysearch is headquartered in West Hollywood
, California
and is an owned and operated web site of CityGrid Media
, which is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp
. Original office was in Pasadena, California.
Citysearch was founded in September 1995 by Jeffrey Brewer, Caskey Dickson, Brad Haaugard, Taylor Wescoatt, and Tamar Halpern. Charles Conn was then recruited to lead the new company. The idea, initiative, and seed capital came initially from Bill Gross
.
In 1999, Citysearch acquired the competing Sidewalk.com
website from Microsoft
, and merged the two sites together. In 2007, another competitor, Insider Pages
was acquired .
In June 2010, Citysearch LLC rebranded as CityGrid Media
. The flagship product of CityGrid Media
is CityGrid, a content and ad network for local. CityGrid Media
also owns and operates leading local consumer properties which include Citysearch, Insider Pages
, and Urbanspoon
.
While many local search sites have mushroomed over the past few years, Citysearch's biggest competition comes from the fast growing Yelp, Inc. Yelp has been growing at 80% while Citysearch has remained flat.. Local search engines from Bing, Google and Yahoo are also widely used alternatives to finding local businesses on the internet.
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and is an owned and operated web site of CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media is an online media company that connects web and mobile publishers with local advertising organizations by linking them through CityGrid®, its local content and advertising network. CityGrid Media owns and operates leading local consumer properties including Citysearch, Insider Pages...
, which is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp
IAC/InterActiveCorp
InterActiveCorp is an American internet company with over 50 brands across 40 countries headquartered in New York City...
. Original office was in Pasadena, California.
Citysearch was founded in September 1995 by Jeffrey Brewer, Caskey Dickson, Brad Haaugard, Taylor Wescoatt, and Tamar Halpern. Charles Conn was then recruited to lead the new company. The idea, initiative, and seed capital came initially from Bill Gross
Bill Gross
Bill Gross is an American businessman. Born in 1958, he grew up in Encino, California. He founded GNP Loudspeakers , an audio equipment manufacturer; GNP Development Inc., acquired by Lotus Software; and Knowledge Adventure, an educational software company, later acquired by Cendant...
.
In 1999, Citysearch acquired the competing Sidewalk.com
Sidewalk.com
Sidewalk.com was first registered in 1995 by a C.D. Bell of Los Angeles, CA, as a website where local subscribers could gain a presence on the web. Bell compiled a lengthy list of possible names for his new domain, and much to his surprise his first choice, "Sidewalk.com", was available. Most of...
website from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and merged the two sites together. In 2007, another competitor, Insider Pages
Insider Pages
Insider Pages is an online "local search" service operated by IAC/InterActiveCorp.Before its acquisition by IAC the company was based in Redwood Shores, California, and had over 600,000 reviews of local merchants around the country. Insider Pages was founded by Stuart MacFarlane in 2004...
was acquired .
In June 2010, Citysearch LLC rebranded as CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media is an online media company that connects web and mobile publishers with local advertising organizations by linking them through CityGrid®, its local content and advertising network. CityGrid Media owns and operates leading local consumer properties including Citysearch, Insider Pages...
. The flagship product of CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media is an online media company that connects web and mobile publishers with local advertising organizations by linking them through CityGrid®, its local content and advertising network. CityGrid Media owns and operates leading local consumer properties including Citysearch, Insider Pages...
is CityGrid, a content and ad network for local. CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media
CityGrid Media is an online media company that connects web and mobile publishers with local advertising organizations by linking them through CityGrid®, its local content and advertising network. CityGrid Media owns and operates leading local consumer properties including Citysearch, Insider Pages...
also owns and operates leading local consumer properties which include Citysearch, Insider Pages
Insider Pages
Insider Pages is an online "local search" service operated by IAC/InterActiveCorp.Before its acquisition by IAC the company was based in Redwood Shores, California, and had over 600,000 reviews of local merchants around the country. Insider Pages was founded by Stuart MacFarlane in 2004...
, and Urbanspoon
Urbanspoon
Urbanspoon is an IAC/InterActiveCorp-owned restaurant information/recommendation service competing directly with OpenTable. It developed a popular iPhone application and has a website similar to Yelp. In August 2009, the website launched an online restaurant reservations system for last-minute...
.
While many local search sites have mushroomed over the past few years, Citysearch's biggest competition comes from the fast growing Yelp, Inc. Yelp has been growing at 80% while Citysearch has remained flat.. Local search engines from Bing, Google and Yahoo are also widely used alternatives to finding local businesses on the internet.
Best of Citysearch
Best of Citysearch is a feature that gives locals an opportunity to vote for their favorite businesses in popular categories such as Restaurants, Nightlife, Hotels and Services. Citysearch opens up its annual polls with nominations from editors. Throughout the voting period visitors to the site cast votes for their favorite local business. After the polls close, the top ten businesses in each category are revealed to their cities.Criticism
- In 2005, Citysearch was criticized by a blogger for their alleged inflation of user submitted ratings and reviews. Citysearch has since updated their ratings system. Citysearch has also stated that they have the right to refuse to post or to remove any user review that violates the terms of use. Reviews that are subject to removal include unacceptable content such as profanity, personal information, promotion of illegal activity and harmful content. In November 2007, Citysearch partnered with MerchantCircle , a company that conducts automated telemarketing to small businesses to sell them online advertising packages.
- Users have criticized Citysearch for deleting and censoring genuine reviews, but taking little to no action against fake reviews.
- After registering, Citysearch offers no apparent option for closing one's account.