Business Is Buzzing For New Web Site
Open a web browser in search of a drycleaner in Worcester or a bar in Marlborough and you'll find a huge array of links to choose from. But, to Peter Caputa IV of Westborough, that's not necessarily a good thing.
"There's a million different web sites where you can go and read reviews," he said. "And that's the problem - there's a million of them."
Caputa thinks he has an answer that will give customers a simple, one-stop resource for finding out about businesses while also helping companies make themselves more visible on the web. Together with a silent partner, he has just launched Hive411.com. Visitors to the site can nominate themselves as the best in any category they can dream up: the best laser hair removal in Northborough, the best home inspection in Massachusetts.
Then, other visitors can vote for them or nominate a rival in the category. Caputa said he thinks many people who don't bother writing reviews on other sites won't mind taking a second to cast a vote.
"We figured we'd make it real simple and let people say yes or no," he said.
Double Click
Caputa, who also works with several networking groups, built in features that let companies learn about each other. The most active voters are prominently displayed, and visitors can click on their names to see who they've voted for and what they've been nominated for.
"They can kind of build their own little networks here and endorse each other," Caputa said.
The site, which Caputa said cost very little to set up, had more than 400 unique visitors in its first nine days of operation. The site uses Google Ads to make money, with each search calling up advertisements for related businesses.
Caputa said that, at least initially, he expects most of the site's traffic to come from Massachusetts businesspeople, but it also includes categories for businesses in other states and even other countries.
WBJ Web Partners
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