NBC Local Media is partnering with geo-data company Fwix to roll out an application that lets publishers organize content around locations.

NBC is rolling out Fwix?s Geotagger across its online properties in 10 major U.S. markets. The technology addresses the growing use of mobile phones to access the Internet, more broadly, as well as consumers searching for local content via mobile.

?Geotagger adds a layer of location-based relevancy to any Web property that enables both consumers to find geo-located content - down to a hyperlocal and place-based level - and marketers to create better location-targeted campaigns,? said Hamid Schricker, product marketing director at Fwix, San Francisco.

Google search was the top destination among mobile sites in April, according to data from Nielsen.  Search topped mobile reach by category.

The growth of smartphones is driving the use of search via mobile as consumers look for stores, review products, rent cars and perform other locally-based search and shopping activities.

Mobile search index
By geotagging the Web, Fwix is looking to create a search index built for location and mobile.
This will enable consumers to discover information about what?s happening nearby to them.

Users will see the Fwix Geotagger button near the Twitter and Facebook share buttons a consumer typically sees for a Web article.

When they mouse over it, they see the locations geotagged to that content in a small pop-up box.
?If they?re interested in reading more relevant content about those places, they simply click and are taken to a more comprehensive Place Page regarding that location,? Mr. Schricker said.

?It could be a restaurant, or an entire metro area,? he said.

?Either way, they?ll see more content, social media activity, news, reviews, photos and more about that place.?

Media publishers will be able to create a branded Place Page for a location and show all the relevant news articles over time. They can also expand these Place Pages with targeted advertising opportunities and additional content.

Publishers can access and use the Fwix geotags to enhance their location-targeted advertising solution. For example, if a Web article references the Top 5 restaurants in San Francisco, those 5 restaurants would be identified by Geotagger as the referenced places in the article.

Geotagger also gives greater exposure to the publisher by syndicating the tagged content to a larger audience through the Fwix API.

Media publisher New West will also be participating in the beta program.

?Prior to Geotagger, the majority of the Web content online had very minimal-to-none location metadata associated with it,? Mr. Schricker said.