The Declining Value of Yellow Page Ads
Someday in the near future it will happen. It may be next week, next month, or a few months from now, but eventually your rep from the yellow pages is going to call asking for money to renew your ad for another year.
While they may "WOW" you with figures that don't tell the whole story, there's no way of hiding it, Yellow Pages are in trouble and dramatically fewer people use them every year. The truth is response rates to Yellow Page ads have been steadily dropping since the mid 90's, and today is a fraction of what it once was. Before your rep calls for another check, there are a few things you will want to know.
This isn't new news, the effectiveness of yellow page advertising has been on the decline since the mid 90s. In 2007, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates looked at this trend and came up with what has turned out to be an ever more accurate picture of phone book advertising,
"When you say something like 'plumber' the presentation you get (on the internet) will be far better than what you get in the Yellow Pages," Gates said. "After all, we know your location and so we can cluster [results] around that. ... Yellow Page usage amongst people in their, say below 50, will drop to near zero over the next five years."
But they're not the only ones, another great quote from an advertising article says it a little differently...
Way back in the 20th Century...
The answer to Where can I buy a refrigerator? used to be let your fingers do the walking. But the only
people who continue to walk those fingers in this millennium are the ones who got into that habit decades ago. Google and Yahoo, to cite two sites, offer vastly more information, from more sources, more quickly. Fresher info, too. Phone book accuracy begins to decay the moment it comes off the printing press.
Look at your brand message: how can you best tell your story? If you can draw prospects – via broadcast or print ads, good search engine rankings, or sponsored search – to your website, you can offer information precisely tailored to those prospects, with as much drill-down information as they desire. And pictures. And video. And animations. Even pages of technical specs, or multiple languages, if prospects need them. Bingo. Home run. Yahtzee.
A Better Alternative to Yellow Page Advertising
Unlike Yellow Pages and other forms of traditional print advertising, online marketing is skyrocketing upward in its ability to deliver the results advertisers are looking for. Not only will your ads and site be seen by a lot more people than, but through SEO you can target the specific type of prospects and customers you want to attract to your business. Once they are there, you also aren't limited to just a few lines of text, but have a rich medium to use in showcasing all of your services in the best possible light. But the best part, an investment in a great SEO program continues to pay dividends long after your last payment. Unlike the Yellow Pages which require a continuous monthly investment to keep your ad from being pulled, your SEO investment will keep your site in the Search Engine with little to know ongoing fees on your part. If you would like to get the greatest Return on Investment for your marketing dollars, contact us today for a free SEO consultation!
