Online Business Directory Gets Specific

Posted on March 10, 1999

A new Internet site aims to lighten the burden for web surfers hunting for business-related information online. BizBot is a business-specific search engine on the Internet, featuring verified listings, interactive rating/comment features, discussion forums and an entrepreneurs' networking area.

BizBot founder Brian Welch says the search engine was developed to provide a more personal search experience and help users avoid the "results overload" common to some of the larger search engines. "If you search for 'web hosting,' for instance, Alta Vista alone gives you 100,000 results. How do you know the one you want is at the top? What about all of the dead or repeat links that you have to go through just to get to the good stuff?"

BizBot's users can rate and comment on sites and services listed in the directory. Users can participate in discussion forums on a variety of topics, including advertising, business opportunities, e-commerce, Internet access, marketing, web hosting and design and webmaster resources. The "Entrepreneurs' Corner" allows business owners to network and get tips and assistance from professionals.

Staff members review each site submitted before entering it into the directory. Welch says this makes BizBot's listings more reliable than those of many other directories and search engines. "Because our listings are all verified, dead links are much less common. Users can feel confident that our categories really contain what they're expected to, because we review each listing and put it in the most appropriate category."