Local Matters announced it will launch a new local search platform called Destination Search LE (Lite Edition). This essentially brings the concept behind its flagship Local Search platform to smaller players.

It will be a hosted and SEO-friendly platform that takes some of the guesswork out of the equation for startups in the local search space (or anyone looking to boost their existing functionality). This comes just weeks after the launch of Local Matters’ city guide platform, Guidespot, and further fills out its product line to touch more horizontal segments of the market.

Features include:

Refined and relevant search results based on consumer research
Customized mapping and routing options
User created business review content
Side-by-side business service and product comparison
Easy user communication and sharing functions
Personalization and organizational tools

Local Matters has a strong track record of developing local search products that play to market trends. LE will similarly take advantage of the democratization of online technologies, which has brought lots of functionality to the little guy that was once reserved for larger companies with lots of IT muscle.

This trend, combined with growing interest in local search, makes it an opportune time to lower the barrier for companies or individuals that want to get up and running with local search destinations. Then comes the hard part…