LocalBizBits Local Search Marketing Information and Resources
The Yellow Pages, in both forms print and Internet, are excellent avenues to promote one’s business. The print Yellow Pages’ use appears to be declining but the Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) in general are growing.
“IYP searches account for more than 30 percent of local commercial searches online…The number of IYP searches increased 102 percent from Jan. 2005 through June 2007. IYP users, like Yellow Pages users, are “ready-to-buy” consumers who look for local businesses to fill a need Stephanie Hobbs Welcome To The Local Search Jungle
Over the last few months, there have been a few articles on the subject of how the Yellow Pages industry is using a multiplatform approach, combining the print and online Yellow Pages. (I expect to hear more about this at DMS’08 in 10 days.)
“The yellow pages industry is now doing what the newspaper industry is doing, which is talking about the combined reach of the traditional and print products. This makes sense from a marketing standpoint.” Greg Sterling YPA: Print Stable,IYP Growing
“Overall Yellow Pages usage is on the rise, the combination of print and online references rose to 17.2 billion in 2007…Internet Yellow Pages usage has experienced double-digit growth, climbing to 3.8 billion references in 2007 (comScore 2007), and print directory usage remains stable with 13.4 billion annual references. “ Larry Small Multiplatform Yellow Pages Usage On the Rise
In addition to this multiplatform approach, new technology such as mobile phones are effecting the IYPs. Stephanie Hobbs wrote a nice post (Local Mobile Search Takes Center Stage as Next-Generation Format of Yellow Pages: Industry Panel Weighs In) about a Yellow Pages Association’s conference that took place in April.
“The local mobile search market has definitively taken the Yellow Pages market to the next level, as it naturally complements both the print and online forms of the medium.”
It will be interesting to see how things shape up but hopefully it is clear that IYP show be part of your local search campaign. To answer the question I raised, Internet or Paper, I pick Internet. 🙂
