Google vs Yellow Pages

[daniel.wurm]

Almost every week I get a phone call from an advertising company asking me to advertise with them. Yellow Pages calls me once a month, and usually offers me a free listing. I decided to do some research about what kind of advertising works, and what doesn't.



First of all, ask yourself, when was the last time you used Yellow Pages to find a product or service. Never? Right. Me neither. So your customers probably aren't either. In fact, research shows that this is a fact.
http://www.adrevamp.com/Articles/Google ... Pages.html
Only 7% of people still use Yellow Pages, compared to the over 90% who use Google every day.

Ok, so paying Yellow Pages is a waste of money, but surely a free listing doesn't hurt? Wrong!
The reason why Yellow Pages offers you a free listing is because the more painters who are on their web-site, the higher THEIR Google ranking will be. That's right. Every painter who lists on their web-site is actually helping Yellow Pages, not themselves! So by supplying Yellow Pages with your details you could actually be undermining your own Google marketing campaign.

Another reason not to list yourself on Yellow Pages is because they do not support the laws regarding licensing, registration and marketing. They don't care if you are a fully qualified painter with 30 years experience who is licensed and insured, or a half-baked jack-of-all trades who doesn't know which end of the brush to hold; they will let you advertise as a painter! And it's ruining our industry.

I lodged formal complaints with Sensis, who owns Yellow Pages, three times, and every time I was told 'its not our problem, we are within the law'. So I took it to the Department of Fair Trading in NSW, and although they sympathised with our situation, they said they could only take action against painters who advertised on Yellow Pages illegally. 'Illegal' advertising means advertising without displaying your license number or registration number. I checked out Yellow Pages ads and MOST painters ads do not contain this information. That means that most painters on Yellow Pages are breaking the law, whether they are licensed or not. A customer using Yellow Pages to choose a painter might choose a painter who is unlicensed, unqualified, and expose their family to dangerous asbestos or lead paint. It's a disgrace!

So next time Yellow Pages calls you, ask yourself, am I helping my business by supporting this company, or am I pouring money down the drain and ruining my industry at the same time?

[james2204baker]

Hi Mate

I understand where you are coming from regards license numbers not being displayed but I don’t agree with you that Yellow Pages doesn’t work. I may not receive many (maybe 4-5 a year) but a third of those are accepted. One lady last year phoned me from my listing in the book. She had just come up from Sydney and took over a managers’ job at Forest Lake Retirement Village. The quote was accepted and I am doing the second stage of it now. So far it has been worth $110,000 to me and there is still another 3 stages to go. They want to repaint every 7 years so it is an on-going contract.

There are still those people that do not like using the internet. I am quoting a job tomorrow in which a lady falls into that category.

I have just renewed my Yellow Pages listing which is only 7 lines in total. It cost $701, so I don’t think it’s a bad investment.

It may not work for some but it certainly works for me.

Cheers

Jim

[daniel.wurm]

Hi Jim.

Thanks for your reply. Its good to get some feedback
Have you ever investigated what would happen if you spent that $701 on improving your Google ranking? I'm sure that painters do get work from Yellow Pages, but I think the money is better spent on Google, because Google is more permanent, far reaching, and targeted.

Also, the guys who think that a free listing in the Yellow Pages helps them are sadly mistaken. Every painter who lists himself in Yellow Pages is actually taking traffic away from his own web-site, unless his listing includes a link to his web-site. Free listings do not include links to your web-site, so they just help Sensis.

The internet revolution allows us to control the effectiveness of our own advertising. You can by-pass traditional gate-keepers like Yellow Pages. If we keep supporting Yellow Pages we are shooting ourselves in the foot, and the situation will end up the same as it was before the internet; people like you and me paying through the nose to get advertising and competing against johnny-come-latelies.

I get most of my leads through Google Business free listings, which are free, and even more effective than Yellow Pages. It doesn't make sense to pay a middle man to do your advertising for you.

You can get on the front page of Google permanently in your chosen area by investing in SEO for your web-site. It works slower, but it is permanent and much cheaper than Yellow Pages or Pay per Click.

For example, choose the area you want to target and start building links to your website. If you do it yourself it is free!

Here is the link to the free Google business info:

http://www.google.com.au/business/

Another way is to list yourself on this web-site. It is free, but it is better than Yellow Pages because it links back to your web-site, which raises your Google ranking. Also, NIPD only allow qualified painters to list themselves, which gives the public peace of mind, and everyone a level playing field. To list yourself, go to the following link:

http://www.painters.edu.au/Find-A-Paint ... etails.htm

Hope that helps!