The focus for vertical sites is likely to shift in coming months. In addition to regular features, such as listings, many vertical sites will also begin to blend personalized or on demand “maintenance” information with various social media features such as scheduling and reviews.

We’ve seen it with garden and health sites, and also, increasingly, with car maintenance sites. DriverSide and RepairPal, both launched in 2008, have pioneered the personalized garage approach, which links car owners with auto diagnosis and leads to service providers.

A new site, CarCareKiosk, aims at DIYs — Do It Yourselfers. Founder Hans Angermeier, a former investment banker, has developed the site to provide car owners with “how to” videos that are specific to their car make. AT&T/Compete research shows that “How to” videos are major drivers for vertical sites. The site now has 8,000 car repair videos in its library.

Based in Milwaukee, CarCareKiosk has a team of seven who work with new and used car dealers to contribute videos on everything from how to check your own oil to changing the cabin air filter. “Every car is quite different – the cabin air filter on one car might be behind the glove box on one model, but in a completely different place on another car,” says Angermeier.

CarCareKiosk currently has a PayPal “donate” button for support the site, but Angermeier says he expects to sell some search-based advertising. There is also a directory for finding local mechanics, a la RepairPal and DriverSide, but that is just at a starting phase.he real target are used parts manufacturers. Sites such as eBay Motors are stores onto themselves.

He cites research showing that used parts will account for $43 billion in sales in 2012 and $47 billion in 2013. The poor economy might be contributing to people keeping older cars and maintaining them, and also doing their own work, he suggests.

ILM East is coming back to Boston March 26-28 with a lineup of do-ers and innovators that are transforming and re-defining the local space.

Highlights include a featured keynote from industry legend Ted Leonsis (Groupon Vice Chair/Amex Board Member/Sports team owner/AOL mastermind), along with keynotes/interviews from Jason Calacanis, Leslie Berland, Jay Herratti, Michael Zimbalist and Michael Silberman.

Other highlights of the 2 ½ day event includes a pre-conference rundown on Local search run by Andrew Shotland of Local SEO Guide; a full plate of Top BIA/Kelsey research and forecasts; a special Venture Capital panel; and innovator panels on Social, Mobile, Deals, Video and Hyperlocal (the latter co-moderated with Merrill Brown.)

KEYNOTES/KEYNOTE DISCUSSIONS
• Ted Leonsis: Owner, Monumental Sports (Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards;) The Vice Chair of Groupon;, Board member of Amex, former Vice Chair of AOL; Author, The Business of Happiness
• Jason Calacanis: CEO, Mahalo; Investor. Calacanis’ career has been at the cutting edge of local and social media and reflects all the big trends, from his development of The Silicon Alley Reporter to Weblogs (AOL), Mahalo, and the creation of TechCrunch50 and Launch.
• Leslie Berland, Vice President, Social Strategy, American Express. Berland’s a major deal maker deeply involved in Amex’s mega FourSquare and Facebook deals.
• Jay Herratti, CEO, CityGrid Media. Herratti always gets top rankings at our events. He runs IAC’s super quad of the CityGrid Media Network, Citysearch, UrbanSpoon and InsiderPages.
• Michael Zimbalist, VP, Research Operations, New York Times Co. Zimbalist leads the NYT’s 12 person research unit. He’s deeply immersed in cutting edge social, mobile, tablet and video efforts.
• Michael Silberman, GM, New York Magazine Silberman is the mastermind of NYMag’s development of a super set of verticals catering to the “New York state of mind.”).

FEATURED SPEAKERS
• Bill Bice, CEO, SpaBoom
• Merrill Brown, co-founder. MSNBC.com, Court TV
• Jim Douglass, EVP, Cartera Commerce
• Jere Doyle, CEO, EverSave
• Walt Doyle, CEO, Where
• Adam Japko, CEO, Digital Sherpa
• Maria Kermath, Dir.,, New Tech & Sales Apps, AT&T Advertising Sales
• Mark Josephson, SVP, AOL Local
• Charlie Kim, CEO, Next Jump
• John McIntyre, CEO, Pixelfish
• Randa Minkarah, SVP, Revenue, Fisher Communications
• Randy Parker, President, SMB Apps
• Mark Schmulen, GM, Social Media, Constant Contact
• Andrew Shotland, Publisher, Local SEO Guide
• Andy Slater, VP, Digital Agency Sales, Katz 360
• Christopher Tippie, CEO, FindNSave
• Darren Waddell, EVP, Product and Corporate Marketing, Reply.com

Join hundreds of senior level local executives at ILM East for the local community’s best networking and insights. You can register here for earlier bird rates.

Internet Pioneer Ted Leonsis

How big can SMB scheduling be? And how universal across SMB categories? Those are the questions posed by the addition of scheduling to Groupon (Groupon Scheduler) and Merchant Circle, as well as the rise of several independent scheduling sites, such as Full Slate, Agendize, MaxiPage, Appointy and Genbook,

Another contender is Schedulicity, a scheduling pioneer that is now two years old and has 15,000 customers. The 21-person company, based in Bozeman, MT, sells monthly scheduling services to one person for $19, or for $39 for up to 20 people who work out of the same location. Veteran local exec Dave Galvan (Topix, InfoUSA, Yahoo) has recently joined the company as president and head of business development, quickly forming partnerships with L’Oreal, Modern Salon, Vista Print, Yext, the GiftCard Café, and Marlo Beauty.

Galvan tells us that Schedulicity’s approach is vertically focused, and that the company is now working with 45 vertical categories. Typical SMB customers have between 300-500 customers, he adds. While Galvan acknowledges that other scheduling companies might compete for mindshare with potential partners, the space is so undeveloped with SMBs that the real competition is “pad and paper.”

How scheduling companies ultimately compete can take lots of directions. Schedulicity, for instance, is adding email offers and personalization features that could pit it against SMB marketing giants such as Constant Contact. Sending an offer out on Schedulicity takes just a few seconds, while Constant Contact is “a complex email product” with a learning curve, he argues. Moreover, lists can be customized for such things as birthdays, residential address, etc.

At the same time, the company is also focusing on such specific scheduling areas as classes and workshops, which would pit it against vendor sites such as TeachStreet. It has already scheduled over 100,000 classes.

The company also has the potential with partnerships for companies in the deal space, that might want to work with its “deal manager” feature, which meters the number of deal customers that can be scheduled, and ropes off sections of the day for regular customers – features that competitors such as FullSlate also have.

“We have done 1,000 daily deals since the summer,” says Galvan. He emphasizes that the company is agnostic towards deals providers and is not in the deals space.

Galvan says that the company’s ultimate success will be the spread of word of mouth, aided broadly by social networks. He notes that company already has 66,000 “likes” on Facebook.

Companies are beginning to focus on loyalty programs for existing customers, rather than simply using deal a day to acquire new customers. Closely and WildFire App are both pursuing loyalty programs.

A loyalty startup that we like is “Punchcard,” which launches today. The brainchild of MerchEngines founder Andy Steuer, Punchcard is a smartphone app that provides a virtual facsimile of the loyalty cards that customers are familiar with from their favorite coffee or ice cream shop (Get 10 purchase stamps or punches, get one free).

Punchcard has gotten $1 million in seed funding from IdeaLab, and has hired five people, including local business development executive Dawn Padungian (Local.com, Charter Cable.)

Consumers sign up for Punchcard on a store-by-store basis, and receive a virtual punch after snapping a photo of their receipt. They can sign in via Facebook Connect.The service is currently available for iPhone users, and an Android version will launch in January.

Steuer tells us that the card’s virtual nature gives it real flexibility in terms of incentives, or what he terms “offer triggers.” After their 10th purchase, for instance, customers can get cash or credit. The amount would be based on their average spending. That’s the standard offer. Since it is all electronic, however, merchants could opt to provide rewards after a certain number of purchases in a given month, or after a certain amount is spent, etc.

The company will also be in a good position to leverage behavioral data, and make nearby recommendations. It doesn’t have to worry about email fatigue issues since all its communications are via the app, rather than email, notes Steuer.

To rev up the market, Punchcard is seeding the market in Southern California with a pre-populated list of 147,000 merchants. During the trial period, it will pay the credit for the merchant’s 11th sale (up to $30.). The company’s actual revenue model, however, is based on monthly fees ranging from $29 to $129. At launch, 40 companies are already paying.

If Punchcard is successful in winning five percent more local users, research from The Center for Retail Management shows that can translate to 60-100 percent gain in revenue, adds Steuer.

ILM West is shaping up to be one of the great ones. Taking place Dec. 12-14 in downtown San Francisco, ILM West really reflects a sea change in local marketing from advertising to the new hybrid model of advertising and commerce (i.e. prepaid deals, reputation management, mobile app sales etc.).

We’ve made some big additions since our last update, starting with Google and Facebook. These add to the existing lineup, including our “rock stars” (Clear Channel CEO and industry legend Bob Pittman AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher, Media News Group/Journal Register CEO John Paton and Deseret Media and former Harvard Business School Professor Clark Gilbert), and major sessions on deals, offers, verticals and the whole spectrum of local trends.

We will pursue three unique angles on Google at ILM West:

1- The local efforts, under Marissa Mayer’s local team. Jeff Aguero, head of local marketing, will present on everything local, from Zagat, to Google Places, to the Big G’s new “Get Online” program for SMBs. These strategies have really developed since this summer.

2- The global reseller effort. Global Channels head Todd Rowe will engage in an in-depth conversation with BIA/Kelsey President Neal Polachek on all his efforts.

3- Google Mobile. Mobile and Local Search exec Surojit Chatterjee will provide insights into this critical area for Google as part of our All SoLoMo morning on Day 3.

We’re also going deep with Facebook at ILM West. Facebook’s new local leader Matt Idema is our afternoon keynote on Day 2, with a lot of new details and a progress report on the local and vertical strategies. On Day 1, we are also taking a special look at working with Facebook’s platform with execs from Trada, Oodle and Kenshoo Local/Social weighing in. Eager but not sure how to play with Facebook? You will be when ILM West is done.

The SoLoMo event on Day 3 itself is going to be quite the cornerstone for ILM West. Curated by the research teams from our Social Local Media and Mobile Local Media programs, SoLoMo features top line data; and indepth and fresh looks at SoLoMo implementations from leaders at Google, AT&T Interactive, Zaarly, PayPal, XAd, JiWire and AppStack (Steve Espinosa’s new project.)

You can see the full agenda here. And register here.

Remember: We are making a donation to the SF/Marin County Food Bank for all registrations that come in by Thanksgiving.

Yelp’s S1, which was issued last week as a run-up to a $100 million IPO, reveals a lot of new data about the reviews leader. The big question about Yelp has been whether it can grow against increased pressure from Google, and also begin to take market share away from traditional media players such as Yellow Pages.

Yelp’s plan for growth relies heavily on overseas growth. It is now in 22 international cities on top of 43 domestic markets. But it would also grow its primary business via local and brand advertising; monetizing mobile services that now make up 40 percent of its searches; boosting revenue from deals (where it has lowered expectations); and more revenue sharing dollars from restaurant reservations and travel.

Launched in 2004, Yelp had initially risen to the top of the heap among service and city guide leaders by dominating Google’s organic local search. After Google’s effort to acquire Yelp for $500 million ended under murky circumstances, Yelp has seen its prior dominance of Google search fade away. Moreover, Google Places – enhanced by Google’s purchase of Zagat — now looms as a competitor in its own right for reviews and advertising.

“Our success depends on our ability to maintain a prominent presence in search results for queries regarding local businesses on Google,” notes the S1.

Yet, Yelp is growing splendidly, even with the apparent Google woes. Yelp earned $47.7 million in 2010 and $58.4 million in net revenue in the first nine months of 2011, representing 80 percent growth over the first nine months of 2010.

During the nine months of 2011, the company claimed 19,000 paid accounts – up 75 percent from the same period in 2010, And 529,000 claimed pages –up 114 percent. And in a business where the number of current reviews is its currency, it has an archive of 22 million reviews, up 66 percent from the same period in 2010. Overall, it sees 61 million monthly users.

Yelp is primarily known for its restaurant reviews. That is still its primary image, and what has made “to yelp” a verb. But Yelp is also more diversified than generally perceived, and resembles a combination city magazine/Yellow Pages.

Restaurants and dining now make up 23 percent. Other major segments include shopping (22 percent), services (10 percent); beauty (9 percent); arts and entertainment (8 percent); Health (5 percent) Night Life (4 percent) and Travel and Hotel (4 percent). It also has a broad demographic, with 42 percent between the ages of 18-34, and 33 percent between the ages of 35-49.

What investors will be looking at is not only Yelp’s ability to grow and move into new areas, but also it’s potential for profits. The company has accumulated a deficit of $32.1 million since its launch, and lost roughly $7.6 million in the first 9 months of 2011. Sales and marketing costs have been especially heavy, eating up $38.5 million for the first nine months of 2011.

Business Insider suggests that “Yelp is Groupon without the cash flow,” basing its comment on Yelp’s increasing marketing costs for customer acquisitions. But to us, Yelp is working to get over a tipping point. And unlike Groupon’s one-time relationship with local businesses, Yelp is working on Yellow Pages-like renewal rates.

In fact, the key to Yelp is to continue its ability to maintain and leverage its huge user base; satisfy advertisers; and stay abreast of social media trends that help match users with establishments based on their interests. It won’t be easy and is not a sure thing. But Yelp’s trajectory to date has been an impressive one.

Shares of Yelp Searches

In the wake of Groupon’s successful IPO, Angie’s List is apparently set to issue its own IPO on Thursday. The offering would raise up to $113 million for the Indianapolis-based company which provides members-only reviews of services and medical providers

For us, the big question is whether consumers will continue to be willing to pay from $10 to $67 a year for a safe firewall when other review services, including Yelp and ServiceMagic, are free. (answer: I’m a member).

We’ve recently written about highlights from the S1, noting that the company has a membership roster of 820,000 paying households in 170 U.S. markets, and earned $25.58 million last year. We also noted that while revenues were split 50/50 between membership fees and advertising in 2008, it has now shifted to 39 percent membership fees and 61 percent advertising. The company, which apparently turned down a buy-out offer from Gannett several years ago, currently has 19,750 advertisers.

Additional opportunities come from the introduction of Angie’s List’s Big Deal, which has now been introduced in 27 cities and is available to members and non-members alike. More than 63,000 deals have been sold since its launch in June 2010.

Ticketmaster-Citysearch once had the idea that it could spur local commerce by matching concert goers with nearby restaurants, bars and even parking lots. AOL Digital City and Sidewalk explored similar concepts. But no one got it totally right. Now, Weotta, a five person start-up that launched at the last TechCrunch Disrupt, is making a go of it, using social media ratings to personalize results.

“We can tell you what is good for your girlfriend, or your parents, or out of town guests,” says Founder Grant Wernick. “Long term, it is an intelligent local platform, matching and ranking what goes together,” he says. While similar systems have already been built for various verticals, but Weotta is focusing specifically on local.

Wernick tells us that the company has basically built a classification system of various media that blends user rankings and personalizes each result.

“We have a lot of affiliate relationships,” says Wernick. But that isn’t the key to making money. Instead, he anticipates a lot of highly targeted advertising.

Wernick cites a recent Fast Company article about Ticketmaster stating, “40% of tickets go unsold and 60% of event-goers would attend more shows if they knew they were taking place.” Weotta can theoretically solve this problem by sending inventory to the right people at the right time.

Facebook has become an important marketing channel to SMBs, according to InfoGroup’s quarterly Small Business Marketing Outlook. Twenty percent of those surveyed said Facebook was extremely/very important, and 24 percent said it was somewhat important.

Twitter’s important, too. Twenty-four percent said Twitter was either somewhat or very important. Local coupon sites were also cited by 26 percent as somewhat or very important.

In general, 31 percent expect to boost their budgets over the next 12 months. Fifty-seven percent expect their marketing budgets to remain flat. Ten percent expect a dip in their marketing budgets. Sixty percent also said that their website was the most important marketing technique, while 50 percent said email marketing was important.

Angie’s List issued an S1 this week as it seeks to raise $75 million from an IPO. The S1 is full of details about the 16 year-old service reviews company. Its massive, $60 million national ad campaign over the past 18 months, for instance, has produced a membership roster of 820,000 paying households in 170 U.S. markets.

The company, which earned $35.58 million in 2010, has also seen a shift of its revenue pie. While revenues were split 50/50 between membership fees and advertising in 2008, it has now shifted to 39 percent membership fees and 61 percent advertising. The company currently has 19,750 advertisers.

Additional opportunities come from the introduction of Angie’s List’s Big Deal, which has now been introduced in 27 cities and is available to members and non-members alike. More than 62,879 deals have been sold since its launch in June 2010.

Key to the company’s next stage is a successful introduction of new a la carte verticals such as Health and Wellness and Classic Cars, and increased user penetration in large markets such as New York and Los Angeles. The key is to maximize marketing dollars from its national ad campaigns, which receive 100 percent of its marketing budget.

Several major questions remain about the company.

1. Can it make money? Angie’s List has been outspending its revenue in its rapid push to gain scale via national advertising.

2. Can it compete against free services? Like Cable TV and newspapers, Angie’s List’s business model is based on a dual revenue stream of membership (“paid circulation”) and advertising. Customers will only continue to pay for the service if reviews are considered more accurate, more local and more numerous than competitors.

3. Can it go more local? As Angie’s List’s growth relies more on suburban and exurban areas, it will be challenged to provide more locally-oriented service providers. Its current metro-wide approach includes many service providers that are further than 50 miles away in some cases.

4. Can it market locally? Angie’s List is currently devoting 100 percent of its marketing dollars to national advertising. The effort treats the entire country as a single market, making it less efficient to reach smaller markets. If Angie’s List is to grow these markets, it is going to need to rely more on local media, social media and word of mouth.

5. Can it acquire and integrate companies? Angie’s List is mostly homegrown and remains a relatively straightforward operation that relies very lightly on innovative technologies. As the company seeks to add more features and grow overseas, however, it is likely to need to acquire various entitles (a la ServiceMagic). It remains to be seen how well it will integrate other operations.

A Full Report is being published next week for BIA/Kelsey Marketplaces clients.