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Yodle Gets Google Seal Of Approval

Online ad firm Yodle has become an authorized reseller of Google AdWords. Yodle specializes in helping small, local businesses -- beauty salons, landscapers, and limo companies, for instance -- place online ads and convert them into customers.

Founded three years ago, Yodle is growing rapidly. The startup just hired its one hundredth employee, ten times what it had a year ago. Based in New York, it has recently opened offices in Atlanta, Boston, and Charlotte, N.C. Last fall, Yodle closed $12 million in financing from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Yodle specializes in helping mom-and-pop companies place online ads, then convert Web traffic into phone calls. Its slogan is "Clicks are great. Calls are better." Yodle routes and tracks phone calls that result from online ads.

As an AdWords reseller, Yodle should find easier to get Main Street businesses into the Google ad game. AdWords resellers help clients set up AdWords accounts, manage keyword bids and ad campaigns, and report on performance. Yodle also places ads on MSN, Superpages.com, Yahoo, and other sites. Its algorithms automate the process by giving priority to key words and search engines it determines are the best value for a small, local business.

Launched as NatPal, Yodle changed its name last year. The company was co-founded by president Nathaniel Stevens and two buddies, and it's been beefing up its management team with executives who have experience in the online ad business. CEO Court Cunningham is former general manager of marketing automation for DoubleClick, and CTO John Merryman is an ex-DoubleClicker. VP of sales Mike DeLuca was previously a sales exec with Yahoo HotJobs.

I met recently with Yodle co-founder Nathaniel Stevens. You can see the interview here.

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