Convera Corp., provider of vertical-search services for publishers, has signed a partnership agreement with e-media-consulting practice and search-engine-marketing services firm SearchChannel LLC to provide publishers with a vertical Web search and advertising services.
SearchChannel will use its expertise to help Convera develop online business services for business-to-business publishers.
“Now Convera can develop, host and manage vertical search engines and then provide services which help its publishing clients drive search-engine and Web site traffic,” said Graham Charlesworth, vice president of international operations and worldwide partner management.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SearchChannel will integrate its existing vertical search engines with Convera’s vertical Web-search platform, which includes EngineK.com in the marketing industry, DwellingWell.com in the home-furnishings segment and others in human resources, pharmaceuticals and business travel.
“It will move these properties to the Convera vertical-search platform,” Charlesworth said. “That expands the portfolio of business verticals that Convera supports and provides Convera with additional revenue opportunities. SearchChannel in turn will provide a range of search engine optimization and ad-sales training services to Convera’s clients, which are business publishers expanding their online properties.
“These additional services address a publisher’s need to drive traffic to its Web site and cultivate an online audience,” he added.
Convera recently made deals to provide hosted vertical-search services to business publishers including United Business Media, the Nielsen Company, John Wiley and Sons, Incisive Media, Centaur Media, Lebhar Friedman and Euromoney Institutional Investor.
