More and more small businesses are flocking to Manta to promote themselves and connect with peers. According to comScore, a marketing research company, the number of unique visitors to Manta's website increased 184% from October 2009 to October 2010.Another list of site rankings, this one from Quantcast, noted the growth of Manta's audience to 31 million from 12 million in July 2010. Meanwhile, Manta maintains the No. 3 ranking in comScore's business news and research category, behind Yahoo Finance and Dow Jones but ahead of AOL Money and CNN Money.

But what is Manta? For those of you who didn't read my former post about it, let me reiterate. Manta is a Columbus, Ohio-based company that creates business profiles by collecting and compiling data. A company can write its own profile from scratch, or it can "claim" the profile that Manta has already created. Those opting for the latter need only contact Manta to prove their identity. Once the profile is theirs, they can edit it, add to it, insert photos, offer coupons--whatever they want. Since Manta's introduction, the number of company profiles claimed daily has jumped 900%.

"For SMBs, being found online is highly challenging," says Pam Springer, president and CEO of Manta, in the company's latest press release. "Manta helps them be found, which is growing our unique small business community and fueling overall Internet growth."

Another piece of good news for small businesses is this: It won't cost you anything to claim and maintain a profile with Manta. And that's enticing for companies keeping a close eye on their marketing budgets.

Manta's goal now is to continue enhancing its offering--to "add utility to Manta beyond the promotional component," says Springer. Claiming and managing profiles will still be free, but other services will be added on a subscription basis. Right now, businesses can pay an annual fee for a Premium Business Listing, which leverages Manta's SEO expertise, allowing registrants to choose keywords or phrases that describe their businesses and will bring up their profiles when entered in a search engine.