Marchex Relaunches OpenList As Broad Local Search Destination

Marchex has been making lots of moves in local lately. It recently acquired VoiceStar to add PPCall and call tracking functionality to its advertising capabilities. It launched 100,000 local content sites featuring search and browse functionality, making an otherwise static domain portfolio into a much more compelling local and vertical network of sites. And the technology and user experience at the core of that massive launch is now on display at a newly relaunched consumer destination: OpenList.com.

The site offers a nice interface, context-sensitive navigation/filters, dynamic mapping (Yahoo), aggregated user and expert reviews and broad horizontal local coverage. Marchex has also partnered with vertical content providers to augment results in selected categories. The new OpenList becomes an immediately high-level competitor and consumer destination in the local search space.

Here’s the press release announcing the relaunch. There’s also some additional discussion on my personal blog Screenwerk.

Marchex’s chief search architect Matthew Berk will also be speaking on the “Introduction the Local Search Engines” panel next week at SMX Local & Mobile.