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CitySquares Online, Inc. is a local search company that operates a website under the name CitySquares.com at www.citysquares.com. The company was founded in (2005) by co-founders Ben Saren and Bob Leland. The site specializes in hyperlocal content. Over 2 million people access the CitySquares website each month, putting it in the top 1000 of U.S. Internet web sites.[1]
[edit] HistoryAfter years of frustrating online experiences finding local business information online, specifically in a neighborhood context [2]|, founder Ben Saren partnered with co-founder Bob Leland to form the company. Enlisting the help of friends and family, the first iteration of CitySquares.com was launched on October 16, 2005 with a celebratory launch party in Davis Square,Somerville, MA, but only featured seven neighborhoods in Cambridge, MA and Somerville, MA with the intention to simply prove the core value propositions of the website, to businesses and to consumers. After a slow and measured expansion into other Boston area neighborhood, and bootstrapping the company for approximately 18 months, the company secured Series A round financing from eCoast Angels in April 2007. The company launched the second version of its website in October 2007, a full two years after its first launch. The new website included the entire metro Boston, MA area, with over 64,000 business listing. The company continued to test its value proposition over the span of the subsequent months until in the middle of 2008 when the company expanded the website into the rest of New England and into the New York City region. Also in 2008 the company secured additional financing from billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban as well as Jonathan Kraft of The Kraft Group, owner of New England Patriots, with continued participation from eCoast Angels. Most recently, in March 2009, the company completed its national expansion. [edit] Products and services[edit] Local searchCitySquares provides online local search capabilities for its visitors. A typical search includes what the user is seeking (i.e. barber shop) and the location from which the search is to be performed, entered as a specific address, neighborhood, city/state combination, or zip code. Each business listing result contains a 5-point rating, reviews from other site visitors, and details such as the business address, hours, accessibility, and parking. Business owners can directly update their own business' listing information. Business listings and related content are organized by city and neighborhood and a standard Internet Yellow Pages categorization system. Content and listings can also be discovered through organic search engine results pages, and tends to be the primary source of the site's traffic. Maps leveraging Google Maps show businesses to further aid in business discovery. [edit] ContentThe CitySquares.com website has listings for over 16 million businesses throughout the United States. These listings vary widely in nature with the site including listings for storefronts such as restaurants and shops; service businesses such as doctors, hotels, and cultural venues; and non-business locations such as schools, museums, parks, and churches. The website also includes local events and news for these communities. All of the site's content is organized into a finely defined neighborhood context. [edit] References
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