UK Yellow Pages Publisher Yell Adds “Web 2.0” Look And Features

Yell, which owns the yellow pages brand in the UK, has been fairly experimental with its site and product features, adding shopping search, classifieds, and mobile ahead of others and its American counterparts. It has also done several redesigns over the course of the past year in an effort to improve usability and stay current with user expectations. The latest is a “Web 2.0” redesign that employs the proverbial tag cloud and personalization elements.

Here are the new and improved features, as Yell has explained them:

Addition of “tag cloud” on the homepage – Highlighting Yell.com’s most popular search terms to its consumers

Personalisation features – Set up a “My Yell” login with a preferred search location creating personalised searches every time. Save and comment on listings seen only by you, revisit and share Yell listings data with friends

Refinement tools – Refine or expand searches as needed, and zoom in and out of particular geographic areas in a more intuitive way

Ambiguous search – Yell.com will now interpret incorrect spellings, locations with the same name, and half-remembered names, and return with results designed to help the seeker find the exact information they are looking for

Improved maps and directions – Consumers will now be able to plot businesses onto maps along with points of interest.

The non-Web 2.0 element here is the three search boxes on the home page.