Yellow Pages Advertising

As a former directory advertising salesman what frustrated me the most were traditional advertisers refusing to transition to an online form of advertising, and the new generations unwillingness to be included in the print version.

Who out there still advertises in their local directories? What steps are your yellow page companies taking in the way of getting online? Will the Yellow Pages become obselete in the next 10 years? 20 years?

My neighbor's last phone book sat on his front porch for about 5 months. Then I assume it was moved to a trash can or dumpster.

It would be hard to say if and when we'll largely discard the yellow pages but the value of the print version has surely lost 50% of its value in the last 10 years. If that trend continues...you get the idea.

The second I realize the new Yellow Pages has been delivered to my front porch is the instant it goes straight to the dumpster.  It is much easier and faster for me to find what I am looking for on the internet.  I am actually surprised that Yellow Pages still mass prints the directory and delivers it...

You know...i actually use the yellowpages every now and then. It is true that for the most part I look things up online - but at least 10-15% of the time I use the printed yellowpages to look up phone numbers. Beyond phone numbers - the use of printed yellowpages is pretty much non-existent. What good does an address do me if I can't figure out how to get there? And does anyone ever really pay attention to the full and half page ads that are in there? I know I don't - I skip right by them.

I think without a doubt that printed yellowpages will soon become a thing of the past. The resources on the internet are so much more interactive and useful. One interesting thought is - if I am a small business who services a local area, it would be worthwhile for me to get an ad in your town/neighborhood's newpaper or newsletter. I think those are much more relevant to the audience and you would see more return from something like that as opposed to the national yellowpages or big name newspapers.

Town newspapers are the only way to fly offline for a small business. Even getting a link from your hometown website does little more than strengthen your SEO link-building efforts.

This starts to veer off topic but I'd love to do a study on U.S. cities and towns and, against predetermined criteria, how many of their websites could be categorized as "horribly insufficient". Try reasoning with City Hall as a web professional about the need to establish a respectable (and functional) web presence.

Maybe a new topic is in order for that...

Hi all,

I agree that I seldom use the Yellow pages print book.  The wave of the future is the internet.  You can find whatever you need at your finger tips.  I can not remember the last time I used the print version of the yellow pages.  However, I did post a free ad in the online yellow pages and have gotten some good results from it.  Small businesses will need to post their ads in the online yellow pages for more exposure.  I don't waste my time anymore with newspaper advertisements, they simply do not work for me.  Best of luck to you with your advertising, but definetely stay on the net!!!

I agree newspaper ads are a waste of time and do not work.  To be honest I haven't looked for anything in a newspaper ad in almost 10 years.  Why spend money when you have a variety of resources on the internet that are free and usually bring you better results.  It's so much easier to find what you are looking for on the internet and you have a lot more options to choose from.  I will definitely be staying on the net for all my advertising!

Kelly

I have to say, I'm a little bit ambivalent about YP. My husband uses it all the time. I can't remember the last time I did.

The guys who built us a stone pathway this summer were very excited about their 1/4 page ads in YPs covering three counties starting in July. It cost them several thousand dollars, it's now November and apparently so far they have $2,000 worth of business from the ads. Could be the economy, as stone work is kind of a luxury, but they are definitely under water on it.

I registered them a couple of domains, trying to persuade them that is the way to go. But stone crafting is an ancient tradition....it may take them a couple of centuries to catch up

It's worth it to me and our company.

Yellow Pages falls a hard second to Google Local/Maps that says a lot how . That’s not even counting the affiliates it supplies to other directories. Getting a phone book listing in a paper back is going to guarantee your spot on the web; and with marketing your service isn’t having your name in more places the better?

but

Companies like Local (who fall about 7 positions below in last month’s comScore) have a huge network of local newspaper partnerships. A medium to large company looking to reach out people like my dad who read those sites will benefit. For example those services make up for almost 10% of our traffic a month consistently and our ROI is worth our time, not huge, but worth our time.

Am I making any sense? Because I forgot what we were talking about lol.

 I find that advertising in the yellow pages is a big waste. Perhaps it's my particular business. We are not really a mainstream business the everyone can use, like a book store or candy store. Most of the customers that search us out are professional repair shops. Over the years, our best advertising has come from networking and word of mouth. I plan to reduce my yellow space over the next year. Maybe just some basic 1 line listings.

As for newspaper ads: I don't think people actually read the paper to search for ads & listings. Although I do enjoy going through the Sunday sale section in the Sunday paper. Not so much because I'm looking for anything special, but just looking at the sales. Maybe something like: Sears has drills on sale and I could use a drill and I can save some money, so why not. Though I did not set out to look for a drill.

I also use the y pages as a sales tool. I can look through the book for businesses that could benifit from my services, I can then make some cold calls.

I guess I'm "old school" enough to use th y pages when I want to buy something also. It also depends on what I' searching for. If I'm looking for a pizza joint in my neighborhood I'm not going to look on the internet. Actuall looking online is more hassle than picking up a local book and looking.