Your Ad's In The Yellow Pages - Here's Why You Need To Get It Online

If you’ve been sold on an ad in your local yellow pages, you’ve probably heard your sales rep pitch their online version. Think that’s a waste of money? Think again.

Local search means using the internet to find services in your town or city. It’s a lot like using the Yellow Pages. Many of the first local search resources on the internet were Online Yellow Pages.

Here’s how it works: People go online to look for the product or service they need. The results they get back are targeted for where they live. A person searching for health insurance won’t get back a list of agencies from all over the world. They’ll get a list of agencies in their town.

If you want to keep your book healthy, you’d better be on that list.

Who’s Using Local Search?

Online Yellow Pages have been around for over a decade. But the idea of local search has only really started to take off in the last few years.

The Kelsey Group found some interesting numbers about how the local search market is growing:

  • Local Search Engine Listings. All the big players in online search — including Google and Yahoo! — have local sections. You can get a basic listing from them for free — you just have to sign up. https://www.google.com/local/
    add/login?hl=en-US&gl=US
    http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/
    local/business.php
  • Online Classified Ads. Many sites provide free classified ads. The best known is Craigslist, which started in 1995. It serves 124 local markets in the US — from Los Angeles, CA to Harrisburg, PA. Google recently started its own version, called Google Base.  http://base.google.com/
    http://www.craigslist.org/
  • Your Chamber Of Commerce. If you aren’t already a member of your local Chamber Of Commerce, join now. It’s a great way to network with other businesses in your town. And as a member, many Chambers will list your agency on their website for free.

As more people start using the web to find things in their neighborhood, businesses are getting on board. The amount spent on local search advertising in 2005: $3.4 billion. The projected amount for 2010: $13 billion — an increase of more than 380%.

Get Listed Online — For Free

There are several free resources to help you work the local search market.

  • 25% of all search engine users are looking for products and services that are close to home
  • 36% of searches are made to research, compare, and buy products
  • 44% of users are making more local searches than a year ago

Paid Advertising

If you want to turn your online marketing up a notch, there are plenty of paid advertising opportunities through your local media.

Your local paper has a website. So does your local TV station. Having a presence on a local media site is smart for two reasons: they already have a local audience, and they promote their website heavily. Before you buy into it, do your homework. Find out how much local traffic the site is attracting. And ask about the cancellation policy, in case your ad doesn’t perform.

People used to turn to the phone book when they needed something. Now they turn to the internet. Getting listed online isn’t difficult or expensive — you can get free accounts at many of the places mentioned in this article in just minutes. It’s easy to do, and you win by making it easier for prospects to find you.

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