Grayboxx.com - Local Search Engine with Twist

Grayboxx is a new local search engine with a unique search algorithm. Still unveiling slowly over time in different cities, Grayboxx has a trademarked system called "Preference Scoringâ„¢," which seems to amalgamate people's spending habits and written online reviews of local businesses or restaurants to show you the most popular neighborhood businesses. Of course, their results are based on relevance, too, so if you are looking for an asian restaurant, they will give you the highest ranking asian restaurant even if an asian market has a much more popular rating. They also tout that their algorithm provides rankings of less popular businesses such as a notary or tile store, which often don't get user reviews online. Finally, once Grayboxx gives you results, you can click "More Info" to read more information gathered from the web and other third parties.

"Grayboxx was founded in 2005 to bring optimal relevancy to "local search". In English, that means users are going to get what they're looking for. By leveraging intelligent, patent-pending algorithms that discern the quality and reputation of local businesses with minimal user interaction, we index and score local businesses without imposing review-writing chores on end-users.

Grayboxx has received significant funding from Sierra Ventures and is currently in stealth mode."

This site offers a clever and unique approach to web-based searches, which could be the linchpin in the thus-far elusive quest to actually compete with the big boys of Google and Yahoo.

Despite the plethora of alt site engines, does the average user actually use them? I admit that even after reviewing many alt site engines I still use Google for everything, based on convenience and ease. So, the trick is going to be the marketing and word-of-mouth success of this company. I also didn't like the fact that I had to find the zip code for the one city they have available (Burlington, VT) to access their site, as opposed to just inputting a city. That is a huge huge barrier to gaining new users.