Online Directories vs. PPC Advertising

[ashyknuckles]

I am interested in finding out people's opinions about the advantages/disadvantages of local online yellow page directories vs. pay-per-click search engine placement.

[digitalv]

More people are finding what they want from search engines than directories ... but even without considering that, Pay-Per-Click is a much better model all around for the advertiser, as you're only paying for traffic you actually receive.

[keywordguru]

Depending your product/service I would say it is a toss up.
I know that some of the online yellow page systems are now starting to also use PPC sites so you also only pay as you go.
Don't forget though, if your product or service can be done remotely and can be sold worldwide, or a far distance, then PPC will definitely broaden your audience. Just be sure to control your keywords and choose them wisely.

Best bet would be, if the online yellow pages aren't too expensive, to try them and track closely. If they don't work, you can always use PPC with an investment of only $5 to start:)
Good Luck
KG

[Lord Majestic]

Pay-Per-Click is a much better model all around for the advertiser, as you're only paying for traffic you actually receive.

I always wondered why people that that for some reason paying X for Y clicks is somehow better than paying X for Z impressions, which would generate same Y clicks (everyone should know).

You can say that budgeting is easy as your costs are capped and you can turn on and off in real time, but proper banner serving system would have allowed same freedoms including those of switching off after desired Y clicks.

IMHO the real difference that PPC for search engines introduced is that due to inherent nature of search these ads are shown in relevant context, thus providing improvement in quality of said clicks. Unlike clicks on annoying popups pretending to be fake system messages clicks on PPC links on SERPs are more likely to be legit.

[ashyknuckles]

I appreciate the thoughts. I should have specified that the question was meant for small business with a local market. My feeling is that with PPC, you may get more hits, but the quality of the leads with online directories seems to be better. I also know that overture has started their local match which seems to be the best of both worlds as long as they keep working to improve their algorthims. Any thoughts?

[ashyknuckles]

One last question. What does everyone think about the online directories that offer keywords that only search within the directory. Couldn't this produce highly relevant results (especially in specialized industries). I am new to this forum and really appreciate everyone's assistance.

[Lord Majestic]

Couldn't this produce highly relevant results (especially in specialized industries)

Not unless:

1) they have full list of pages in them with differing degree of relevance

2) they can actually rank these by relevance as perceived by user rather than the directory's private goals (ie paid inclusions bias)

Given them directories are inherently limited in number of pages they will search through, I'd say it is more likely that they will show you only what advertisers wanted you to see. Does not hurt to run a search and make up your opinion tho - people dont yet get charged for running searches!