Newspapers are opening the throttle on services aimed at providing new features for online advertisers.

McClatchy Co., for example, is expanding its SearchMax program that enables local businesses to advertise their wares on more than 30 search engines.

The Miami Herald launched SearchMax last month, following the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, which rolled it out earlier this year, said James Calloway, McClatchy Interactive’s business development manager.

“We know from our experience from the Star Tribune that it works well for advertisers and that initial indications are good for The Miami Herald,” Calloway said.

SearchMax, described by Calloway as a “flat-rate guaranteed clicks search engine marketing program,” is based on software developed by Irvine, Calif.-based WebVisible, which launched its eponymous local advertising service earlier this year.

SearchMax will be sold by The Herald’s print and interactive divisions to advertisers and the local business community within the Miami/Dade and Broward County regions.

Automatic buys

The newspaper’s sales staff will enter orders through WebVisible’s Geneva online interface. A separate component, Geneva Optimizer, automatically makes keyword buys across its network of search engines.

SME charges newspapers a cost per click for its search-engine marketing service. Calloway wouldn’t disclose how much McClatchy is charging advertisers for SearchMax, other than saying that fees would be higher than a company would pay if it did its own search-engine marketing.

“Part of what they are paying for is the labor of having us manage that for them,” he said.

The Boston Globe also said it would use WebVisible to anchor a search engine marketing service on its Web site.

 “We are going to be using their guaranteed search package on search engines,” said Laura Kauderer, The Globe’s strategic marketing manager.

“We think they have great technology and have a great staff helping us with implementation and customer service.”

Kauderer said The Globe plans to test the program, as yet unnamed, in the fourth quarter and make it commercially available early next year.

Job search

Two papers, meantime, linked with Monster.com to deliver online and offline recruitment services to employers and job seekers in their regions.

Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, which publishes The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News, launched its co-branded site Aug. 14, with career and job search tools that include a resume builder, salary center and expert advice.

A revamped job site on philly.com resulted in a 25 percent increase in traffic.
 

Traffic to philly.com jumped 25 percent in the first month, Monster said, along with a 20 percent increase in Monster job listings in Philadelphia since the alliance began.

Next up: the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, which plans to launch a co-branded recruitment page on its ohio.com Web site November, according to Ed Moss, publisher.

“Monster is the number one recruitment Web site in the nation and we wanted to partner, from a national standpoint, with the leader in the industry,” he said. “We felt, combined with the strength of our local brand, that teaming up with Monster was a win-win on both ends.”

In addition to its current seven-day and 30-day employment ad packages, the Beacon Journal will add new print and Web advertising options. Other new features will include Monster.com’s resume service and other content.