Links to a business' home page are even free, but for additional listings in other categories, bold listings, display advertisements, or even a Web page, an annual fee is required. Claiming over 16 million entries, it boasts an even larger database than the American Business Information database of ten-plus million listings. On the other hand, it allows the selection of up to five states and up to five different business categories. If the retrieval set is large, search results can be further narrowed by adding a city name, street address, area code, or ZIP Code. Neither database duplicates the entire coverage of the other.
Unique records can be found in each, so a comprehensive search requires searching both databases.
Other freely accessible business directories can be found on Hoover's Online. Just to add to the confusion often inherent with Net resources, there is more than one Hoover's Online. None of the Hoover's databases approach the size of the Central Source Yellow Pages database, but they make up for that by including more information than just the address and phone number. The MasterList database contains address, phone, fax, CEO, CFO, annual sales, number of employees, and a description of the company's business. Hoover's Company Profiles database has much more detailed entries, including an overview of the company, a brief history, chief administrators, address, a list of major competitors, and more detailed recent and historical financial statistics.