Locating a business has just become much easier

Locating a business has just become that much easier

Most people have trouble locating a business at some time, when traditional methods are just no help at all. They remember part of the name... Trouble is, it's not the first part of the name so alphabetical listings are useless. Or they only have some idea of what they are after but are not sure what sort of industry listing that would fit under. Alternatively there are services available but they cost money.

Finding businesses in this situation has just become that much easier. Anyone that has access to the internet now has access to a free New Zealand service.

"I felt that there was a real gap in the market," says Stewart Hobbs, Director of Webworx New Zealand Limited, "and SearchnetÔ was the result. We tested the market, particularly business managers, to see how they would like to search for businesses on the internet rather than how they have to do it at the moment. Ease of use and speed were their main requirements. They wanted to use keywords rather than multi-level searches and didn't want a lot on non-business information appearing. We took their comments on board and used them when designing how SearchnetÔ works."

The result is a business search facility that scans a database currently listing more than 160,000 businesses in New Zealand. Businesses are able to provide or modify their details on line. The database can be searched using either all or part of a business name, or by business type and geographic region.

"We have a commitment to refining the search process based on user feedback as well as tracking how people use the search engine," comments Stewart Hobbs. "Our philosophy is to continue to improve this offering."

"One of the ways in which we will be doing this is by offering a free link to any business web site in New Zealand. Web site addresses often do not correspond to the actual company or trading name and can be difficult to locate. SearchnetÔ's aim is to eventually provide a free direct link to every business web site in New Zealand."

Searchnet can be found at www.searchnet.co.nz.

For further information on Searchnet, please contact Stewart Hobbs at Webworx New Zealand Ltd on 302 2811.

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