Finding Local Business Online Just Got Easier

The Canadian Office for Applied Research Studies (COFARS) has launched an online directory to help bring together Canadian businesses and consumers. The directory can be found at http://cofars.ca and includes more than 60,000 listings for 500 communities across the country.

Victoria-based COFARS is a think-tank founded in 2003 to study issues in Canadian business. The group focuses mainly on topics and trends related to small business and the Internet. The online directory is intended to fill a niche that the group identified through its research.

"Like many people, I rarely use the yellow pages anymore," said Greg Froh, COFARS technical analyst and founding member. "I search online instead. Finding a local pizza joint is usually pretty easy, not so for a local mechanic or a dentist. Certain industries are under-served when it comes to local search, particularly in smaller towns."

The group found that a large number of trade association Web sites and online directories are inaccessible to search engines due to their software design. This means that businesses advertising on these sites rarely appear in search engine results. The COFARS directory was developed in such a way to allow search engines full access to its data.

In addition to business listings, the COFARS directory features classified ads for each of the communities it serves. It is free to post both business and classified listings, which include full contact information for sellers, up to 4 full-colour photos, and a full-colour map.