SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Talk about a “wow.” Attendance at the BIA Kelsey Group “Interactive Local Media” conference in the heart of Silicon Valley this year is about 450 — or roughly the same as it was two years ago. That’s a remarkable accomplishment in this economy.

The number of attendees is down from last year, when Kelsey had a relationship with a Search Engine Strategies. But there are 26 sponsoring / exhibiting companies, and the general sessions are drawing 200 to 250 people.

Kelsey was recently acquired by BIA Financial Network, but at least at this conference many of the faces are still the same: Matt Booth, Peter Krasilovsky, Neal Polachek, Bobbi Loy-Luster and more. Tom Buono, CEO of BIA (and Kelsey’s “new boss,” as he put it), is also here with a contingent of BIA folks.

Given the state of the economy, it’s great to see how many people, especially those in the yellow pages industry and the companies that serve that industry, felt it would be worthwhile to be here. Tough timing, but Kelsey’s pulled it off.