Forum Moderators: anallawalla & bakedjake
That's $417 per month, half of which is currently allocated to traditional print Yellow Pages.
$600 / year (or 25% of the spend available after you take out YP's cut)
times
520000 advertisers (or approximately 4% of US business)
=
$312,000,000 revenue
And 4% is a conservative estimate, I think.
Beyond the local search hype, potential small business advertisers are confused and overwhelmed.
Agreed. While I was at the National Restaurant Association show, I talked to probably 1000 catering company owners and restaurant owners. All of them said the same thing - that YP was crap, they know it's a waste of money, and they do it simply because they don't know what's available.
Asked further if they would spend money in other areas or even take the money away from the YP, they agreed wholeheartedly that they would.
Maybe it is a game that will be won in the trenches. But don't think for a second that small business owners are particularly happy with YP.
Bottom line: he's spending maybe $500-600 a month total on internet marketing, including his ad spending, and he needed to hire another employee to handle his new business. He is having his best year ever, and his YP budget is down to zero.
Now how the heck can I get my hands on a few more of those caterers from the National Restaurant Association Show?
Ortelius
I talked to probably 1000 catering company owners and restaurant owners. All of them said the same thing - that YP was crap, they know it's a waste of money, and they do it simply because they don't know what's available.
I've only had one experience with an Offline Yellow Pages ad, and my experience was the same. Show these folks just a tiny bit of ROI that they can track, and it's an easy conversion from there. The problem is of course, getting them to fork out the cash in the first place so you can show them the ROI.
This is where making a niche for yourself or company comes in. But I'll leave that for another post.
It [YellowPages.com] employs a unionized, feet-on-the-street sales force. These people spend face time explaining the benefits of augmenting print with simplified interactive ads.These traditional Yellow Pages foot soldiers are the ones gaining the lion's share of sales in the current local online ad marketplace.
The successful local search niche operations must do something similar. The guy at the counter will make the sale.
G, MSN, Y, et al will simply "scope limit" the info already in their DBs. If they can leverage the YP style info by buying the data or the companies they will do so.
You can not beat the SE's DBs or their cash but you can outsell their product in a given market. As said, few businesses like YP. They have never seen a viable alternative.
To succeed offer that alternative now before G/MSN/Y Local simply replaces YPs as the only "known" game in town. Some are. Pick a major metropolitan area in North America and at least one niche local search/portal is operating.
Only two questions really:
* One (A): Will any of these niche players grow sufficient to become a lasting force or will they whither?
* One (B): Should any develop into a search force will it remain independant or sell out?
I believe the few that flourish will be bought. Indeed, that appears to be the business plan of most.
* Two: Will the online YP style directories succeed against the SEs?
I believe it still too close to call.
>>Indeed, that appears to be the business plan of most.
one would think, err hope, but sometimes idealism is blinding.
>>YP style directories succeed against the SEs
i wonder if the two will not become one in the end.
>>YP style directories succeed against the SEs
i wonder if the two will not become one in the end.
The relationship is one of convenience now. While the YPs and SEs have a great symbiotic relationship right now, but a long term marriage (ie one buys the other) I don't think is likely.
As long as the YP's can keep a user base and eyeballs coming viewing their ads, they are viable. Who knows maybe in the future they will just become huge CMRs for the SEs. Now that would be ironic.
Even if the SE's do start a large initiative to sell direct and start a sales force, SE's will continue to use them as they would any other large reseller.
I don't see the relationship going further than it is. I doubt the SEs are going to buy a unionized sales force. I think they are more likely to pilfer some key people and start their own to avoid the decades of bureaucracy and dealing with unions if they don't have to.
An IYP or telco buying G or Y seems really far fetched.
i wonder if the two will not become one in the end.
