A SERVICE which will allow businesses to search for other businesses for free, based on their location, will be going live in Newcastle next month.
Marketeer Kevin Robinson and IT expert Haniff Din plan to roll out the ibod intelligent business-searching service across the UK by the end of the year, but plan to “start in Newcastle and work downwards” over the next few months.
The Middlesbrough-based company has secured nearly £500,000 in funding from local companies to help develop its product, which could allow it to top £12m in turnover in its first four years.
The ibod service gives businesses a free holding website which can boost its presence on search engines, and members also receive access to a forum for networking.
Din said the company’s search engine service differs from dominant alternatives such as Google because it only includes business sites in its search results, and because the determining factor in a high ranking is the company’s proximity to the user, rather than its deep pockets or mastery of search engine optimisation.
He said: “It’s a massive market, and we’re providing something which is business-oriented and local. We only charge if people want to advertise on the site. The way we do it makes the playing field a little more even, because at the moment it’s skewed towards the businesses that have the money. Here, everyone has their own site and you can’t pay to be higher because it’s location-based. When you do a search it shows the results closest to you.”
Ibod has been developed over the course of three years, and will provide its free service to charities, SMEs and corporate firms. It already employs 12 staff and could add another 20 in the next year as it expands its sales and technology staff.
Its roster of key investors now includes Northstar Equity Investors, Thornaby haulage company Scott Bros, Stockton commercial lawyers The Endeavour Partnership, Hartlepool accountants and business advisors Waltons Clark Whitehill, Middlesbrough’s Digital Media Consulting and Cal2 Fire and Security, where Robinson is a director.
The company will be using the money to set up a server in each town it caters for, and hopes to raise its revenue through advertising as well as web design and search engine optimisation services.
Robinson said: “If businesses aren’t aware of each other and don’t know the people next door to them, how can they work together? There are a lot of products out there but none as yet provide a business to business search engine platform that supports and helps local small businesses.”
