YLM (Your Local Marketplace™) is a unique online advertising model. It has become the official community local community business directory in over 100 Community Directories across Canada.

YLM is positioned as a community’s official local community business directory, including each business and organization in that community. Local businesses showcase their products and services and purchase online advertisements from Breken through YLM. This is our primary revenue source.

 YLM is a great tool for promoting my business. People find me quickly and I love that my enhanced listing lets me use my artwork as the graphic! I also like that I can change the graphic, and my listing, at any time, announce a new painting when it is available or focus on a different side of my business at different times of year. It is much more relevant and cost-effective than print advertising and I know I’m reaching my local market when I receive the stats on how many people have seen my listing!”

Brenda Stonehouse, Stonehouse Art and Design, City of Kawartha Lakes

Breken anchors to the community through the inclusion of Community Partners. These Community Partners often sponsor the directory or simply increase its awareness across the community. Examples of partners include Economic Development Offices (EDs), Chambers of Commerce, Tourism Bureaus, etc. These partners use the YLM software specifically developed by Breken to foster local economic development. Unlike any other directory, this strategy entrenches YLM firmly in a community. This “official” sponsorship adds credibility and a long-term commitment to the online marketplace that reinforces YLM’s significant marketing advantage over other directories.

 We at Durham Region have administered business directories for years for our communities to assist with our business expansion, retention, and attraction activities. Now, with EDToolsetTM, we are much more efficient and productive. We are providing more value to our individual businesses and meeting the Region's, the individual cities', towns, townships' and Community Partners' needs as well. We are pleased to have presented our businesses with one searchable Marketplace, and the opportunity to increase their individual revenues”

Doug Lindeblom, Economic Development, Region of Durham

Did you know... Online local search is one of the highest growth sectors of the Internet:
• 74% of online consumers regularly search for products or services near home or work (Kelsey Group 2004)
• In 2004,14.7 million in-store holiday shoppers first searched online to check for local deals…a 43% increase over 2003 (CrossMedia 2005)
• Local online advertising projected growth: 28% in 2004 from $1.9 billion to $2.4 billion (Jupiter Research 2004)
• Online marketing is the most cost effective form of lead generation (Piper Jaffray 2004)