Common Headings For Print and Internet Yellow Pages and the IYP User Profile

So, the stats are in!  It’s been determined which headings are most searched by consumers looking for products and services online through Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs).  On August 4th, the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) released the Top 10 IYP headings based on consumer usage according to research firm Knowledge Networks/SRI.  They are:

 

1. Restaurants
2. Physicians & Surgeons
3. Hotels
4. Auto Repairing & Service
5. Florists-Retail
6. Auto Dealers-New & Used
7. Dentists
8. Auto Parts & Supplies – New & Used
9. Beauty Salons (tie)
10. Hospitals (tie)

 

Not only were top headings revealed, but also the profile of IYP users.

This is really something to think about.  If you offer a product or service in these categories, and others for that matter, but haven’t developed your IYP presence, you could be missing out on a huge piece of the pie.  The IYP profile reflects that over 60% of IYP users are female, many of which are college educated and very stable in their lives.  It’s become very evident that females represent a large segment of buying power and are the decision makers in many households.  So why not reach out to the IYP customer?  If you’ve already developed an online presence, great!  Hopefully, you’re tracking your campaigns with test lines at various headings to analyze what’s working and what’s not.  If you haven’t implemented a targeted, strategic online program, get going!  If you’re a little timid about the whole online thing, just get your feet wet.  Start slowly, perhaps with a 3-6 month campaign integrating test lines and monitoring the campaign’s effectiveness.

 

One thing is for sure, consumers are using Print and Internet Yellow Pages to find the products and services they need.

Yellow Pages and Summer Time Fun

So, it’s that time of year!  Our older kids are home from college, tots and tweens are out of school and it’s time for some family outings.  Why not turn to the Yellow Pages to help your family plan for fun in the summer, even it means staying close to home. 

 

According to the Yellow Pages Association these headings are most impacted by individuals looking for fun but staying close to home based on relevancy.

Enjoy the warmer weather and don’t forget to make good use of the Yellow Pages for your summer plans!

Many Thanks to Association of Directory Marketing (ADM)

Attending the annual Yellow Pages Association Conference is always a good opportunity for networking and extremely informative.  However, this year, we were in for an added treat.  Three to four days prior to day one of the Conference, we received an email inviting us to observe the ADM Interactive Roundtable meeting.  This is a special group of Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs) that work together as a collective group to address key issues in the industry.  Participating in this meeting meant that we’d hear, first hand, about all the cool changes, enhancements, and future initiatives from some of the major players in the search space.

Presenters included representatives from Superpages.com, Yellowpages.com, Local.com, Citysearch.com, UniversalBusinessListing.org, Yellowpages.ca (Canada) and Yellowbook.com.  The main thought that I took away from this break-out session was change, change, change! It appears each of these players appreciate the need to continuously modify content whether it’s user reviews, blogs, photos, profile pages, or video, thus enhancing the user experience.  These companies appreciate the need to invest in technology for better applications.  Distribution partners constantly change with each of these platforms which ultimately delivers extended reach for their advertisers.  That creates so much more value to your online marketing.  The more views, the greater chance of converting that user into a customer, right?

Well, don’t forget to include the “online” piece of the pie in your directory marketing strategy.  If’s clear that there’s definitely an audience for print and online and you want to be sure to get your piece of pie!

Local Search Partnerships

It’s all about the partnerships!  The web is a conglomeration of partnerships and networks.  This is what makes some sites so successful.  Not all sites generate their own content or their own advertisements, they partner with other sites to provide it for them.  Local Search thrives on these agreements because it allows them to reach a larger audience for their advertisers and drives more traffic to their sites.  But not all partnerships are created equal and may cause more harm than good.  Just check out this recent article about Local Search Partnerships:

ComScore: Partnerships in local search spark growth

Ellen Keohane

March 21, 2008

Nationally, Internet yellow pages (IYP) have seen significant increases in search traffic, due in part to new strategic partnerships between companies, according to a recent study by ComScore.

Within the past year, the Yellowpages.com Network established partnerships with Areaguides.net and 411.com, and saw its IYP search market share grow from 14.7% to 20.2% from Q4 2006 to Q4 of 2007, according to comScore. As a result of this growth, Yellowpages.com is now the market leader – overtaking Superpages.com by a slim margin – in the IYP search space.

In 2007, Superpages.com established a new partnership with Local.com and acquired Infospace FindIt/Switchboard.com, but also discontinued its relationships with 411.com and MSN Yellowpages. According to ComScore, Superpages.com’s market share dropped from 20.9% to 20.0% from Q4 2006 to Q4 2007.

Yellow Book and R.H. Donnelley also saw traffic more than double from December of 2006 to December of 2007, according to ComScore. Part of this growth may be attributed to Yellow Book’s partnerships with Infospace and Addresses.com and R.H. Donnelley’s acquisition of Business.com, ComScore said.

At a session at the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York on Monday, a panel consisting of representatives from various local search companies stressed the importance of partnerships in an area where there is no clear market leader.

Content is “absolutely critical” in the local search world, said Justin Sanger, founder and president of LocalLaunch, a local search engine marketing and search optimization firm owned by R.H. Donnelly. As a result, local search companies have had to “embrace” what has historically been their competitors.

“We can’t build walls around our inventory,” Sanger said. “Distribution is critical.”

Nobody’s the gorilla in this market,” said Bruce Crair, COO of Local.com, who also spoke at Monday’s panel. “The more we network with our cooperation partners – the better off the advertiser and consumer is,” he said.

Bruce Crair’s comment is a great ending to this article.  Networking has proven to be a key component to this industry.  The ultimate goal of any strategic partnership should be to provide a benefit to the advertiser and consumer.  More agreements are eminent in this arena and we’ll be keeping an eye on them as they develop.

I’ll have a Latte with my Search!!

I’m headed to Las Vegas this weekend for the upcoming Yellow Pages Association (YPA) Conference http://wmgagency.com/YPAConferenceAgenda.htm

It sounds like an “action packed” agenda with various speakers discussing Print Yellow Pages, Internet Yellow Pages, and Local Search and should be extremely informative.  But what about you?  Do you have any travel plans coming up that will take you to Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis or Orlando? 

If so, DexKnows.com* has you covered!   Now, from participating coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels in these cities you’ll be able to log onto DexKnows.com via Wi-Fi login pages and browse for web links, videos and local business reviews.  The goal is to make your life easier!  How cool is that?  According to Jeff Porter, VP at RH Donnelley, it’s all about making life easier for people on the go.   

Wouldn’t it be great to sip on that nice, hot latte while searching for that special shoe store or the closest movie theater?  

*Dexknows.com is the Internet Yellow Pages for RHDonnelley    

 

Good news for Yellowpages.com advertisers!

Earlier this week we received word that Yellowpages.com and Microsoft signed a distribution agreement that will allow Yellowpages.com’s listings to feed over to MSN’s local search sites.  It’s great to know that Yellowpages.com advertisers will benefit from Microsoft’s reach and will be visible on MSN’s live search, live search maps and MSN Yellow Pages some time in April.

Online Yellow Pages Usage Up

The following article is courtesy of Online Media Daily and the Yellow Pages Association.

News Brief

Online Yellow Pages Usage Up

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 7:45 AM ET

INTERNET YELLOW PAGES (IYPS) accounted for over half (51%) of all local searches online in December 2007, according to data from the Yellow Pages Association (by way of comScore).

On average, 73 million searchers used an IYP each month in 2007, up 16% from the previous year.  Meanwhile, print usage remained relatively unchanged from 2006.

“The Yellow Pages medium is still a go-to resource for ready-to-buy consumers,” said Neg Norton, president of the YPA.  “Overall Yellow Pages usage increased in 2007 as Internet use continues to grow and print usage stabilizes.”