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Yellow PagesCompare a Yellow Pages Ad
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| Content | There's very little you can sayabout your business in a tiny little rectangle. And don't even try to updateyour Yellow Pages content during the year! | Show off your local business to its bestadvantage. No size, color, or media limitations. Update anytime-- make special offers, let visitors know about new products or services,etc. |
| Visitor attention | Near zero -- eyes scanning Yellow Pages listings | Total -- once your prospectivecustomer is on your site, you have 100% of his/her attention |
| Visitor mindset | Dubious, suspicious -- Yellow Pagesis advertising. We've all had experiences with services that were downrightdismal. Zero credibility. | Interested, open-to-buy, PREsold-- they found you through Google, feel smart, and read your excellent content,becoming PREsold upon you as an expert who shares. A Web site that providesas much business information as your prospect needs, along with friendly/usefulcontent, allows the prospective client to know and trust you. High credibility. |
| Exposure, traffic | Near-zero -- Yellow Pages ad may generate afew calls per week (per month)? | Substantial -- attract hundreds,even thousands, of targeted visitors per day, on an ongoing, ever-buildingbasis. And, if you do it right (and you will), they will return to yoursite. Your e-zine also gives you the opportunity to reach your customerson a repeat basis. |
| Measurable | No -- do you have any idea howmany exposures you get, or how many people call or visit due to your Yellow Pages ad?How can you measure ROI (Return on Investment)? | Yes -- you will know exactly howmany visitors arrive, every day, every hour... and you will know everythingabout them. You know the Lifetime Value of a new customer (i.e., the amountof profit that a new customer will bring to your business over his/herlifetime of dealing with you). It makes it so easy to compare that againstthe cost of a Web site. |
| Build customer loyalty | N/A -- not applicable | Your own e-zine -- develop an increasingsense of loyalty with existing customers, as well as repeat business. Youcan reach them, free, whenever you want to. |
| Competitive advantage | Low -- everyone takes a YellowPages ad. That's why you did. Who gets the attention? The companies withthe expensive BIG ads. EVERYWHERE. | High -- your Web site, properlydone, can both build new local business and pull your competition's customersto you. |
| New revenue streams | No -- Yellow Pages just advertisesthat you have a business. | Yes -- a site builds content, whichbuilds targeted visitors and establishes you as an authority in your field.This establishes the potential for multiple streams of income that caneven surpass total income from your current local business. More on thisin Diversify. |
| Open new markets | No -- Yellow Pages is a local medium. | Yes -- the Net is a global medium.More and more, it will replace large paper-bound directories as the wayto find local businesses with local clientele. But obviously, it also opensup global potential. More on this in Listing. |
| Expandable search -- geography | No -- Yellow Pages is a local directory.And it's totally non-interactive. Users either find you... or not. If youdid not buy a listing for a particular locale, they won't. | Yes -- suppose the local golf clubis looking for a bag-piper in its local town. None? Look in the adjacenttown(s). Still none? Look in the nearest mid-size city. Ah... There youare. Better still, a web site allows you to get found in that first town...even if your office is not located there. |
| Expandable search -- keywords | No -- you buy a listing for a single Yellow Pagescategory. If a user searches in a different-but-related category, s/hewon't find you. For example, you sell and service sprinkler systems inyour town? Your prospect is looking up "landscapers" -- s/he calls thelandscaper who recommends a competitor. | Yes -- your prospect searches for"+landscapers +your-town" and finds you (because you created somecontent about landscaping), is PREsold by your site's excellent information,and calls YOU. |
| Cost | Expensive -- hundreds of dollarsper year, per listing, per geographic area, per category, for each 4" x2" Yellow Pages ad. | Inexpensive -- a site can costless than a single 4" x 2" Yellow Pages ad, no limit on keywords (i.e.,how prospects find you), geography, size, etc. No complicated packages,just one single yearly fee. |
Net Result?
1,000 Yellow Pages Ads Building Your Local Small Business
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Contact David Jones, our SBI! Certified Webmaster, for help in evaluating the affectiveness of your yellow pages ad and a web site.
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