Posts Tagged ‘Internet Yellow Pages’

BIA/Kelsey: Nearly Half of Online Consumers Use Internet Yellow Pages; Vertical Sites on the Rise

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Following up on our post about new online marketing opportunities for small businesses, I wanted to share the results of a recent study published by BIA/Kelsey which finds that Internet Yellow Pages and vertical Web sites are now an integral part of the local shopping experience.

The exciting statistic headlining the BIA/Kelsey study is that nearly all consumers (97%) currently use online media when researching products or services in their local area—a clear indication of the growing importance of our industry’s local search efforts.

Specifically, the study found that nearly half of online consumers (48%) use Internet Yellow Pages before buying. In addition, the study found that 42% of online consumers use shopping comparison sites and 25% use vertical sites in advance of making a purchase.

This data is directly in line with our industry’s approach to the online local search, the details of which we’ve shared on this blog. Over the past few months, Yellow Pages companies have added a variety of new features, services, and outlets to boost their online presence and take advantage of strong consumer interest in existing and up-and-coming local search services.

I’m also encouraged by additional data which shows that consumers are now using an average of 7.9 different media sources when shopping for products and services in their local area, up from 6.5 sources in 2009 and 5.8 sources in 2008. Our industry’s integrated approach ensures that our clients are able to reach the largest audience possible on the growing array of platforms consumers are using.

March 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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Search Engine Land Gives Companies Tips to Manage Profile on Internet Yellow Pages

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I came across this article on Search Engine Land today from product marketing expert Lore Weimann, “Protecting Your Brand On The Online Yellow Pages” advising business owners to review their listings online and take a few steps to ensure they “get the best exposure on local yellow pages search” for their brands.

Weimann’s tips include:

  • Running a search of your top generic terms on the popular yellow page search pages and make note of the results including yellowbook.com, yellowpages.com, and superpages.com.
  • Being sure to advertise on your top terms.
  • Controlling your resellers and/or affiliates so that their advertising efforts, ad copy, and offers, are consistent with your own.

While I agree with this advice, I think it also highlights the need – more than ever – that yellow pages representatives provide informed marketing counsel to their customers.

As an industry, we’ve spent the last year transforming our approach to a more customer-centric consultancy model. Taking that extra half hour to walk through the what’s and why’s of a robust online search program really helps our customers achieve the maximum results online.

As Weimann notes – the local search space is growing every day. It is also changing by the minute, and the more guidance we can offer to deliver results in an integrated print, online and mobile world, the better.

November 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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Getting Ready for the Fourth of July Weekend

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The 4th is almost upon us and many American families will be hosting guests, having cookouts and going to watch the fireworks at their local parks.  Some will be camping, many will be playing baseball and others traveling to visit friends and family in distant places.  And of course, there will be lots of good food – crab cakes, ribs, hot dogs, potato salad and apple pie.

With so much to do and so little time, here’s where the Yellow Pages – print and online – can really save you time and money.

Holiday Need
 Heading
Need to board your pet while you travel? Kennels
Camp Site? Campgrounds & Recreational Vehicle Parks
Baseball Equipment? Sporting Goods
Rental Car?     Automobile Renting   
Hotel for overflow guests?      Hotels  / Motels
Extra tables, chairs, tents?                 Party Supplies-Renting
Flowers for the table? Florists
Red, white and blue decorations?            Party Supplies
Barbecue supplies?    Barbecue Equipment and Supplies
Apple Pie? Bakeries

The list goes on and on.  Whether you get out the book or go online, the Yellow Pages are there with the right business to help you out.  And don’t forget to look for the discount coupons to help save some money while you save precious time.

Baseball, Apple Pie and the Yellow Pages.  Sounds like a holiday to me.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

July 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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The Buzz on Bing

Monday, June 29, 2009

In case you missed it – check out my piece on Bing and the IYP connection on Search Engine Land today. It’s already getting some interesting comments, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

As I report in the article: Following some quick search queries, I’ve been encouraged to note that Bing is already showing a healthy reliance on Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) like Yellowpages.com and others for its search results.  I think this provides great evidence that, in the larger pool of local search resources, a Yellow Pages referral carries a lot of weight – almost like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

As the competition among search engines (er, decision engines?) continues to intensify, I expect that the reputation of IYPs will only increase as a go-to source for credible business information. With decades of experience evaluating and supporting business-to-consumer interactions, we have the systems in place to ensure that online consumers will find the credible, reliable and locally-relevant information they seek.

To read more about my test drive with Bing, read my piece at Search Engine Land.

June 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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Experts Rate IYP Listings High for Boosting Google and Yahoo Local Rankings

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Here’s an interesting survey on the factors that influence a local business’ ranking in major search engines.

The Local Search Ranking Factors survey asked 27 experts to rate the importance of 41 different criteria that could impact a business’ ranking in search engine results. The experts said that major data providers and Internet Yellow Pages sites are the second-most influential factor in determining those rankings.

Superpages.com and Yellowpages.com were two providers mentioned by respondents as being most important.

We’ve been saying for a while that a strong presence in Internet Yellow Pages directories makes good sense if you want customers to find you online. That’s because Internet Yellow Pages sites are trusted sources of information for search engines like Google and Yahoo. Bing, as blogged about here recently, features listings YellowPages.com.

Here are a couple of quotes from experts who completed the survey:

  • “Being listed in the right directory or online Yellow Pages can make the difference between #1 and not listed.”
  • “This is still the single most important factor to local search rankings in my opinion.”
  • “I think this has the biggest effect after location.”
  • “These are powerful. It seems they are more powerful than business owner supplied information in Google.”

I imagine that the typical small business doesn’t know what a search engine algorithm is. Yellow Pages companies have been working to help small businesses address this by taking on the role of marketing consultant. Search engine optimization and effective Internet Yellow Pages listings are certainly part that consulting process.

In the past, we’ve also discussed how listing local numbers in Yellow Pages do a better job at attracting customers than toll-free numbers do. It turns out there could be a dual purpose for listing a local number. Some of the experts in the survey expressed concern about how an 800 number without a corresponding local number might impact search engine rankings.

One even said, in all caps: “I would NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE AN 800 NUMBER!”

June 17, 2009 | 1 Comment
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Time for a Game of Leapfrog?

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Sebastien Provencher’s blog post about the evolution of local search at the Canadian Yellow Pages Group (YPG).  Much of it overlays the U.S. experience in creating Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs).  

As Sebastian points out, the industry’s journey to innovation has sometimes taken a “me too!” approach and sometimes been a game of catch-up.  Fraught with false starts and occasionally going out on a limb, the Yellow Pages have been in the game from the beginning and continue to move ahead into new formats that were unimaginable as recently as 2003 (pre-Google IPO) . 

Reading this, it struck me that the industry’s transition is nothing less than amazing.  As the originators of local search over 100 years ago, our memories can be surprisingly short.  Those in the business back in the early 90s must remember the first attempts to recreate print Yellow Pages online -building IYPs page by page, facing difficulties with navigation and the philosophical discussions on consumer behavior.

Today, with YellowPages.com as an iPhone application and YPG’s foray into social media, things are changing faster than some believe. 

But still, he asks – are we moving fast enough? As the Google model begins to look aged and social media emerges as the next big breakthrough, the real question, Sebastian asks, is: “instead of doing incremental innovation, how do you leapfrog search engines?” 

He has laid out a few ideas of what the future might look like. 

I’d be interested to hear yours.

May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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MediaPost Dubs IYPs the “Pulse of Local Search”

Friday, April 3, 2009

Last week, MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan sat down with our own Larry Small to talk online local search.

We recently released data to showing that online local search is growing fast – almost three times faster than overall Web searches in 2008. After chatting with Larry, Laurie took a dive into what those numbers mean for the future of local search and Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) sites.

It was great to see Laurie recognize IYPs as the “pulse” of this growing trend, whether consumers are going straight to IYP sites or clicking through from a search engine like Google or Yahoo. We’re always interested to hear and read more about how the shift online is changing the local search game, and we look forward to reading more from Laurie.

You can read Laurie Sullivan’s full article here.

April 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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Dex Mobile App Provides Service On-the-Go

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

YPA Member R.H. Donnelly launched a new mobile search application yesterday that can be downloaded for free on any mobile device.Supporting the increasing consumer demand for service on-the-go, the new Dex Mobile App enables shoppers to access detailed information on more than 27 million businesses and more than 100 million people through their mobile phone or other handheld device.

The application is exciting because it was designed with a mobile user in mind – acknowledging that shoppers often don’t know exactly what they want. As we reported last week - comScore indicates that 75% of the top 100 keywords searched on IYPs in 2008 were non-branded. 

With Dex Mobile you can search using a specific business name, type, or location or generally search an area or a “Feelin’ Like” category to get suggestions on places to go and things to do. Other user-friendly features include “click-to-connect”, mapping and people search options, among others.

We are excited to see the industry move further toward integrated mobile solutions, and will keep you posted on other innovations.

March 31, 2009 | 1 Comment
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Local Search Grew 58% in 2008 – Outpacing Core Search

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

New data we released today indicates that local search grew almost three times as fast as overall Web search in 2008.According to a new comScore study, local search grew 58% in 2008, outpacing the 21% growth in overall U.S. core Web search during the same period.

Although the volume of core search still far exceeds that of local search – reaching 137 billion vs. 15.7 billion searches in 2008, respectively – the surge in local search bumped its share of overall core search on the top 5 portals up from 10% to 12% for the year.

The increased activity certainly bodes well for IYPs. The study indicated that Internet Yellow Pages and local online business directories saw 23% growth over 2008 to 4.6 billion searches, demonstrating that as demand for local content grows, so will the demand for local online business listings.

Overall – it’s an interesting backdrop for the explosion of local Web content we’ve seen in the first quarter of this year. If things continue as they have in recent months, be prepared for some even more compelling numbers for 2009.

March 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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