AdWords vs. Yahoo Local Search

Which is best for a local business?

[starboy]

I've been running AdWords ads for my restaurant, which show only in my city. Conversions have been pretty good.

I've also been looking at Yahoo Local Search. Anyone have experience with this service? Is it worth subscribing to in addition to AdWords?

[eWhisper]

Overture local advantages:
No need to choose geographic keywords
Overture leverages user data for searches
No minimum budget (precision match is $20/month)
No website required

Overture local disadvantages:
Must use business name as ad title
One ad per account, no matter how many keywords
Bid placement for positions other than #1 are about impossible to predict (no bid tool for local)
local.yahoo.com is currently showing more national ads than local
yahoo.com is showing more local ads than national for local based queries

The concept of overture local is good, and since there's no minimum budget, it's worth trying out. However, if you want to advertise on across the Yahoo network, precision match accounts with geographic keywords can be much easier to work with.

[brycen]

I've found Overture much better for a true brick & mortar location. Google's regions are too big (e.g. San Francisco Bay Area, rather than Berkeley).

With Overture you'll show up as a dot on maps of local resturants. That's good.

[skibum]

Y! presents a map to your establishment which may really help with walk in traffic for an F&B place.