Yellow Pages/Yell.com - Yes or No?

[PI Guy]

I have just spent some time with the Rep and he believes that yell.com and yellow pages are of some use and that the ROI is good.

What are your experiences?

 

[Blush]

Waste of time to be honest if you are only online.all calls I have ever had expect to find a shop to go into.Depends on what it is you are selling etc though.
You can do a free listing though, might be all you need.

 

[PI Guy]

Waste of time to be honest if you are only online.all calls I have ever had expect to find a shop to go into.Depends on what it is you are selling etc though.
You can do a free listing though, might be all you need.

Are you saying both a are a waste of money?

 

[Blush]

I placed a free listing in yell.com and then had a rep convince me to do a paid listing in yellow pages, they didn't tell me that the free listing in yell.com would also appear in the yello pages too?
So I have my free listing right at the beginning of my category and the paid listing at the end of the category.two guesses which one has created the most leads?!
The FREE ONE! Lets just say I will not be renewing it, well not paid that is.

 

[HSLS]

I will only be taking out the free listings next year. There has been no benefit to me with the paid one.

 

[SouthernBusiness]

I use to spend about £3k per year! instead bought a company van, enabling me to do deliveries and added my company logo all over it! Much better advertising. Depends on your business though

 

[Dizzydiza]

First year i took the free listing the second year i paid for a listing and this year i took a cheaper listing....all in yellow pages.....next year.....im opting for the free listing again

 

[stephendoyle]

hi,

both could be good.

i would compare how many orders it will take for the
advertisement to pay for it self and more.

is this a realistic figure?
is it likely?

if its only 1 order per month as an example then
fine, if its 20 orders a month then....

its the free option.

good luck

steve doyle

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I have just spent some time with the Rep and he believes that yell.com and yellow pages are of some use and that the ROI is good.

What are your experiences?

If your business is local geographic then it's fine, but if you are non-geographic then its just too expensive to even consider.

If you customer base is of the kind who are likely to look up a directory rather than look on google? (My husband's business customers are mostly 50+ and its the web they call from, not the directory)

If there are hundreds of other companies advertising in your category, are you going to have to make disproportionate spending in order to make your advert stand out.

Our experience of many years of yellow pages advertising is

Expect them to make at least one major balls up every year (wrong telephone number, wrong category, wrong address etc).

Expect the cost to increase every year (partic if your directory covers quite a large area - next year they'll probably halve it and make you advertise in two directories.

We listed in yell.com and 118247 and didn't get a call of either all year. What is the point for paying for a priority listing and then getting rotated?

Yell.com listings rarely (if ever) work their way through to organic listings.

In conclusion;
I would work out what you are likely to pay yellow pages, and then think how far that would get you with PPC and SEO. And if you go with Yellow pages, expect pretty good service from your rep this year, and then continually, persistent declining service then on!

 

Different things can work.

We had an add for "Used Toyota spares",worked well on a national level.

But percieved wisdom is that in general it can work for your local geographical area,but again depends on your product.

For you Jorge you need one of our vehicle wraps.

So you can creep up on people unannounced.

http://www.volkspart.co.uk/adwrap2.htm

Earl

 

[RayB]

First year i took the free listing the second year i paid for a listing and this year i took a cheaper listing....all in yellow pages.....next year.....im opting for the free listing again

Dunno about any of that - I'm still looking at your avatar (and liking it - a lot)

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I have just spent some time with the Rep and he believes that yell.com and yellow pages are of some use and that the ROI is good.

His opinion is worthless, so ignore it.

I know a number of businesses that make good money from their YP ads. Partly, it's because the YP suits their business, partly it's because they're using it intelligently.

IMO, you could probably do quite well with a good ad.

However, you should do your own market research. First place to start is to get the last 2 years' YPs for your area and look up your category.

Are your competitors in there? Are they continuing their ads from one year to another?

If they are, it's an indication that they're getting enough enquiries that they think it's worthwhile.

Steve

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Are your competitors in there? Are they continuing their ads from one year to another?

If they are, it's an indication that they're getting enough enquiries that they think it's worthwhile.

Steve

If their adverts are getting bigger, and bolder, and brighter, year on year, it may not be an indication that all is great. It may be that they are having to throw more money at the advert each year to maintain their enquiry level.

 

However, you should do your own market research. First place to start is to get the last 2 years' YPs for your area and look up your category.

Are your competitors in there? Are they continuing their ads from one year to another?

If they are, it's an indication that they're getting enough enquiries that they think it's worthwhile.

Steve

As usuall good sound advice .

Earl

 

[directmarketingadvice]

If their adverts are getting bigger, and bolder, and brighter, year on year, it may not be an indication that all is great. It may be that they are having to throw more money at the advert each year to maintain their enquiry level.

A popular YP sales approach is "well, your ad didn't work last year because it was too small/not in colour" so, you're right, a particular ad getting bigger isn't a sign of success, it could just be a sign of desperation/gullibility.

Similarly, some companies will drop their ads because they had poor ads that didn't produce results.

So, you should be looking at the overall trend in the market.

Steve

 

[Rhyl Lightworks]

My experience is:
YP works for some types of business, usually service type industries as opposed to retail, trying to attract business in a specific area. It is however expensive, and I feel it is being used less than it used to be.
Yell.com is a total waste of money. Even people looking up local services via the internet tend to use Google in far greater numbers. You would be better spending a fraction of the money allocated to Yell.com on say Google adwords, using key phrases such as (service offered) in (locality).
Btw ignore anything their reps say; they are highly trained at getting as much money from you as possible, with little consideration as to how it will benefit your business, despite what they may say.
Barrie

 

[estwig]

Hello Jorge,

We did 2 years 1/3 page full colour ad in YP and hated every minute of it.

Timewasters looking for the cheapest quote possible, silly little jobs that weren't worth the effort or just using us like a free DIY info service, drove us close to insanity.

Think part of the problem was any idiot can pick up the phone, but you need to be better organised to own, run and know how to use a puter, we get a much better quality of inquiries from the website than we did with YP.

YP is too static, we update the website every month with our latest projects, or it may suit some to do a special offer, websites offer flexibility.

But as Steve said, YP suit some businesses better then others and these are just our opinions and experiences.

Oh yea, them YP reps may well tell you 'porkies' mate!!!

 

[lockie]

Unless you try it and test then only you will know if it is suitable for your business. this i have done a big spend with multiple ads, some are working really well others not so well but now i know what works and what doesn't.Next year i know what to roll out on a bigger scale and which ones to drop.

Yell .com i have had zilch from, im glad it was a special 2 year deal for peanuts or i would not be very happy. The only job i got has paid for the ad but overall it has been very poor.

 

[Bathead]

For you Jorge you need one of our vehicle wraps.

So you can creep up on people unannounced.

http://www.volkspart.co.uk/adwrap2.htm

Earl

hahaha lol. I can just see it now. Sitting across the road *undercover* waiting to take that all important photographic evidence.

My experience with paid for Yellow Pages was that it was a complete waste of time and money, we had nothing from it. Yell.com was far too expensive, and they annoyed me with the figures they promised. I think all directories of this type try and pull the wool over your eyes as to exact figures in an exact region. I had an argument with one who wouldn't differenciate between impressions and unique visitors.

Mick

 

When I first saw this thread I thought it was an opportunity for me to have a bit of a rant!

I haven't had success where the advert has paid for itself but I have had work come through from it and a few people asking for quotes. If 2 of those quotes came through and went ahead it would have paid for itself two times over.

Thats with a paid listing on yell.com, and it took about 6 months for me even to start getting some click through's from yell.com.

I am still yet un-decided if I am going to carry on with it, I will see how the rest of the year pans out.

 

[RayB]

I am still yet un-decided if I am going to carry on with it, I will see how the rest of the year pans out.

I wouldn't bother - we are in the same line of work as you and I pulled YP and Yell .com a few years ago.

My line of thinking is that it is pointless for B2B - but can be very effective for certain types of B2C and trades

 

I wouldn't bother - we are in the same line of work as you and I pulled YP and Yell .com a few years ago.

My line of thinking is that it is pointless for B2B - but can be very effective for certain types of B2C and trades

It is definitely trade orientated. I try to think about it the way I would. If my cooker broke, what would I do? Pick up the yellow pages.

In our line of work I think 90% of my click through's are probably competitors looking at what ive been doing over the past month.

 

[Dizzydiza]

Dunno about any of that - I'm still looking at your avatar (and liking it - a lot)

maybe i should have used that in my advert in yellow pages...do you think i would have got more business from it?

 

[RayB]

..do you think i would have got more business from it?

If your customers are blokes - then definitely yes - but I suspect tiaras are mostly bought by ladies

 

[am:pm graphics]

YP can be fairly good if you have the right advert and you are in a trade that people will pick up the YP's to look for. We havn't heard many good things about yell, so I think I would save your money there.

 

[Cred-X]

How ironic.

I was reading this and went to YP to check our unpaid listing when the phone rang. Who was on the phone? Yellow Pages!
They advised me that we are not listed on their website. I told the bloke that we were because I was looking at it on the screen at that moment. He then blurted out some twaddle about also being on 118 247 and needing our details confirmed.
When I challenged him that he was simply leading up to a sales pitch for us to buy advertising he gave in and admitted it.
I'm fed with having to constantly tell these people that we have no interest in advertising with them. YP is nothing more than an annoyance for us.

 

[Aspire]

Interesting thread this, my business partner is in similar business to me and has paid for the premium listing while i have the free listing and was considering the upgrade we have had virtually the same level of enquiries. I agree with the above this will differ by trade, do you have any allies in similar trade you can check with?

 

[PI Guy]

Thank you for all the replies. I am checking with others in the trade (see here) Please keep it coming as I have an another meeting in 2 weeks with the rep. I am also going to contact all the detective agencies in the Surrey area who have a yell.com listing and asking them what they think as per Steve Gibson's suggestion.

 

I paid for a listing this year, but will be going back to the free one next year.

I have had a few enquiries through it, but not enough to justify the cost.

 

[RayB]

Out of interest - has anyone got a good story to tell about yell.com (online) - or do we all think it is a waste of money?

 

[PI Guy]

how do i set up a poll here?

 

[RayB]

I think you have to set the poll up when you first start the thread - you can't add it later

 

[i234i]

can anyone tell me how i go about adding a free ad as i couldnt really find out how to do it?

also if anyone has any other links to good free ads in directorys if they could pm me too!

cheers

 

[Cred-X]

can anyone tell me how i go about adding a free ad as i couldnt really find out how to do it?

also if anyone has any other links to good free ads in directorys if they could pm me too!

cheers

Go to http://www.yelldirect.com/freelisting/home.html and follow the link at the bottom of the page

 

[FantasyCouriers]

Out of interest - has anyone got a good story to tell about yell.com (online) - or do we all think it is a waste of money?

They gave me a year's free advertising to make up for listing us with the wrong telephone number, and the wrong address in the wrong section the previous year - is that a good story?

 

[Dizzydiza]

Its funny this thread has come up cause the other day there I help Yell.com with a survey. They sent me a whole load of sheets with the different advertising that they can do for you. On each sheet was listed the same different styles you can get but with different prices on each sheet. I had to go through each sheet saying which advertisement I would be prepared to pay for. Me being a canny Scot opted for either the free listing or the cheap advert with the link from Yell.Com so long as it was under £50. So I suspect the are doing a pricing review to see how much people will be prepared to pay to advertise with them.

 

[RayB]

They gave me a year's free advertising to make up for listing us with the wrong telephone number, and the wrong address in the wrong section the previous year - is that a good story?

Lol - yes, a great story - but do you get business from yell .com?

 

[DMD101]

Hi run my own business Yell........ yeah i did that when spent £1500 with them and got maybe fifteen calls with one taker who was a time waster... My advice get a good web page with solid marketing local to you ... then when you have business support then consider them the AD needs to be big and that costs ... for new company their are much better ways o spend the money....

Try going to businesslink west mids they offer very good advice.. Also try the other similar sites for free advice before spending on YELL or you will do that A LOT

 

[Matt1959]

I think we pull in virtually all local private enquiries from Yellow Pages as we're in a specific and quite small geographical area. As to whether yellow pages works or not - alot depends on your competition within your classification. eg if you we're a builder, you'd have to have a quarter page ad at least to get noticed whereas as a niche business there might be only a dozen ads so a small ad would have the same impact.
Same goes for Yell - 6 pages of entries, and you'll have a job to stand out whatever you pay for, whereas 1 or 2 pages, more of a chance to get noticed. Meself, I havn't done Yell, I aint convinced its worth the money, the entry with a web link is better but cost is prohibitive..

 

[PI Guy]

I am on the 2nd year of advertising with them and my current advert in the book (croydon & Sutton YP)does ok. I am gonna discontinue the south london advert but not sure if i should put that money into yell.com or spend it elsewhere (maybe PR)