yell in administration

JEREMY HAWKE

Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Mar 4, 2008
    8,622
    1
    4,064
    EXETER DEVON
    www.jeremyhawkecourier.co.uk
    They charge between 400 and 1000 pounds to be top of their site in citys and towns their site might be at the top of google in that area / city
    Maybe it will maybe it wont

    The world has moved on a good college kid would get you to the top of google in that area above everybody else for a box of stella and some big bottles of scrumpy jack . So why would anybody pay them
     
    Upvote 0

    JEREMY HAWKE

    Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Mar 4, 2008
    8,622
    1
    4,064
    EXETER DEVON
    www.jeremyhawkecourier.co.uk
    Well we'll all miss the name Hibu won't we....... (wonder how much consultants got paid to come up with that!)

    The same company that came up with the Tesco tablet name they had a difficult afternoon that day !!
     
    Upvote 0
    At last businesses have realised the uselessness of 'priority listings in your locations' from directories such as these and Scoot (and the other million out there) with all their made up traffic projections and lead generation figures.

    Good to have a listing in Yell for some businesses granted, I'm sure it's even worth the fees to be more visible for some businesses too. But for many, this is just another waste of space on the internet and only worthwhile for the citation.
     
    Last edited:
    • Like
    Reactions: JoeyBonez
    Upvote 0

    fisicx

    Moderator
    Sep 12, 2006
    46,878
    8
    15,487
    Aldershot
    www.aerin.co.uk
    I think people would probably still use the directories for local plumbers and services such as that, but little else.
    Would they? Can't remember the last time I used them for anything.

    Even my dad who is a old fashioned as you can get uses google for everything these days.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: deniser
    Upvote 0

    ThePublisher

    Free Member
    Mar 4, 2007
    948
    210
    I've actually got a 2006/7 Yellow Pages on my desk. I use it to bring a screen up to the right height for comfortable use (see, YP does still have its use).

    As a matter of interest, I've just looked at the page count. It is 1492 pages. Compare that with the 2013/14 edition with its much smaller pages, of which there are 480. That's a 67% drop in page count in 7 years.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: 10032012
    Upvote 0

    CAEDAN

    Free Member
    Jul 4, 2012
    124
    26
    cornwall
    Doesn't surprise me!

    The website, like the pages are mostly wrong numbers. If you want a number, you google to company and their are hundreds of directories out there.

    Pricing was a major issue - the wanted the usual amount, plus extra few hundred to every area of a town - whereas it used to be one price for the county years ago!

    I had a salesman from Hibu come round - he tried to sell me advertising, seo and all sorts. It sounded very desperate. The SEO was basic, and could mostly be done yourself. The only 'benefit' they had to offer was linking the advert to peoples searches/websites they visited through google. I don't like hounding people that way for one, and also - just go through google - why use a middleman?

    Been dying for years!
     
    Upvote 0

    Fred_the_frog

    Free Member
    Jan 30, 2011
    1,793
    232
    With Google on most people's phones now, all you have to do to find a number is type 'Plumber in [town]' or even just 'Plumber' and Google will list some plumbers near your location. The only person I know who uses the Yellow Pages is my Nan, who doesn't understand Google, or 'Goggles' as she prefers to say.

    Maybe Yell would do better to list every single number in their directory then ask people to pay to have their number removed! (Not that people would :p)
     
    • Like
    Reactions: 10032012
    Upvote 0

    10032012

    Free Member
    Mar 10, 2012
    1,955
    321
    This is another blockbuster and woolworths.

    They rebranded which was a failure. Hibu... why? Sounds like a 'bebo' competitor. A social web 2.0 like name isn't the way to go for a parent company name!

    They assumed they could out last the internet as a new avenue of competition. No idea why so many reputable firms invested so much cash in the dying business.

    I used to run a directory website, back when Google loved them, when directory websites were out, I moved away from it. Didn't make much money... (was hundreds of competitors and a side line project - autopilot pretty much) could have made more if I sold adverts directly rather than through adsense. Before that you could buy websites specifically with certain content intended to get the best performing adverts... you just needed a good domain, some good SEO and to drive traffic to it... another autopilot... did quite well. Especially when buying adword adverts to make more back from adsense!

    When Google decided to either penalise or ban these type of sites or techniques - I moved away. When Yell was struggling they should have invested into different avenues. In 2005 they kept purchasing out phone directories when the industry was dying... They even did an alliance with Google not realising Google were planning of destroying them... this was after streetview was launched, well after Google Maps...

    Slimming the book down was a big mistake... no one wants to read with a magnifying glass and thick yellow pages always had other uses!

    I hate facebook, but they used their popularity to generate capital, then they bought up companies to prevent dying out. If they didn't they would be gone now. All the large companies do this, Microsoft, Google, Apple etc. This is why I can tell you a list of 50 times more discontinued or failed products of Google than they have active and ongoing. Microsoft is equally as well known of developing something and shelving it really soon... I still like the MSN and the butterfly branding, didn't stop them moving to Windows Live, Bing...

    I think Google destroyed them with the integration, which love Google or not is anti-competitive, but what would I have invested billions in? Google Inc!!!

    Google was taking over their turf but via online services, they thought it was a phase. They were too proud to understand what was happening. Yell spent too much marketing efforts on sales teams trying to sell advert space... a grass roots campaign, perhaps hosting a network of local business networking events each month at an ultimate cost of no more than £10 million a year could have saved their bacon. Wouldn't have stopped Google being popular, but could have developed more into something like "ratedpeople.com" etc. reinforcing promoting local businesses.

    Why would you buy moonfruit an untrusted freebie (with upgrades) cheap-looking website provider when you could have purchased something like ratedpeople.com or developed your own technology to achieve something similar?

    They paid the price. They will get their way out of it... I am sure.
     
    Upvote 0

    Latest Articles