Yellowpages... those scammers

[big dogie]

For all the small business owners out there....... what the hell is up with the yellowpages these days. My rates have doubled in 3 years 100% increase total. Has this happened to you? They have a monopoly is there anything that can be done? I told them I wanted to cut back on my advertizing and they want to charge me more for less.
HELP

b d

 

[elmo]

Does anyone even use the yellow pages as a resource tool? Maybe you shouod consider dropping them and putting your ad dollars into internet.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

For all the small business owners out there....... what the hell is up with the yellowpages these days. My rates have doubled in 3 years 100% increase total. Has this happened to you? They have a monopoly is there anything that can be done? I told them I wanted to cut back on my advertizing and they want to charge me more for less.
HELP

b d

Yellow pages is a huge waste of money.

More people are searching online than using the yellow pages. Cancal your $800 a month yellow pages ad and pay $60 a month for a higher position on yellowpages.ca. You can even add a link to your website.

Forget yellow pages, no one uses it anymore. At least not enough to warrant the cost.

 

[great bear]

"Charge more for Less"??? Sounds like some of the girls I see.

 

[LancsLad]

"Charge more for Less"??? Sounds like some of the girls I see.

If you take less to the party ( ie small endowment) of course they will charge you more.

 

[oldjones]

Does anyone even use the yellow pages as a resource tool? Maybe you shouod consider dropping them and putting your ad dollars into internet.

I not only use 'em at work, I keep a copy in the car. Haven't seen the web page yet that'll give me a much info as an open book. Or loads as fast as I can flip a page. Never mind the website hides everything behind a SearchWall, the book allows for serendipity and collateral hits. You can actually browse it for fun.

And it's delivered free to my door.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH?!?!?

For a yellow page ad?

They can actually be more.

Small ads are $300-$400 a month. Check it out if you don't believe me.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

I not only use 'em at work, I keep a copy in the car. Haven't seen the web page yet that'll give me a much info as an open book. Or loads as fast as I can flip a page. Never mind the website hides everything behind a SearchWall, the book allows for serendipity and collateral hits. You can actually browse it for fun.

And it's delivered free to my door.

Says the guy who is a member of an internet based review board.

 

[biog]

They can actually be more.

Small ads are $300-$400 a month. Check it out if you don't believe me.

What sized ad are you referring to for that rate? A 'business card' sized ad? Or more along the lines of a name with a few lines description?

 

[xarir]

For what it's worth - I'll add my voice to the chorus. I too don't use the Yellow Pages for anything. Google is my friend. The only time I might use it is to find an outcall service when I'm in an unfamiliar town and I'm too lazy to fire up the laptop and connect to the internet in the room.

 

[biog]

Wasting your money IMHO.

I think if your business has a mature customer base then it's still a worth while investment. Still a lot of people in their 40's and above that don't use the computer as their first source of information.

Of course if you're attracting the teens or 20's, you're probably wasting your time.

 

[l69norm]

If you decide to buy advertising in google for instead, watch out for click fraud
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/07/71370

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

What sized ad are you referring to for that rate? A 'business card' sized ad? Or more along the lines of a name with a few lines description?

About a business card size.

 

[ig-88]

No matter how cheap and convenient the Internet is, many mom-and-pop businesses, most of whom are immigrant businesses with limited English abilities, are simply NOT going to advertise online or have a web site at all.

And what if you're in a hotel with no internet access? The physical Yellow Pages, as antiquated as it is, is still a useful source of information on certain local businesses such as taxi companies, laundromats, barber shops, internet cafes (ironically), etc.

Even for big chain businesses, their web site often doesn't tell you what their hours are for the location you're interested in. So, sometimes I use the phone book to get their number, call them (gasp!), and find out their hours.

And yeah, like someone said before, many older folks simply aren't going to use a computer, and will use the physical yellow pages.

 

[Molly Robinson]

I hate when you pay good money for advertising under the heading for your business and there are pizza ads and other stuff not related.

Why bother even putting it in alphabetical order.

 

[elmo]

You can actually browse it for fun.

And it's delivered free to my door.

You need to get out more...

 

[oldjones]

…edit…Before there used to be one yellow pages for Toronto, then it became one for each of the cities, then Toronto was split into east and west, then there are the surrounding towns and cities.

It adds up fast…edit

Yeah, I used to make a point of complaining to them each year, if I want all Toronto YP listings—and I do—they were making me stock two massive books where one used to do it. Massive because they encouraged businesses to take space in both for fear of losing half their customer base. Thus they made each book half as useful and at the same time inflated the whole package with redundant entries. No wonder the product's less attractive/useful every year.

Of course they're fixated on growing their revenue not by improving the product, but by multiplying editions—those silly little 'neighbourhood' directories f'rinstance—whose only positive value is small size. Small be cause they leave so much out! How useful is that in a directory?

If I might offer advice to businesses: Spend nothing on display ads; the bigger they are the less likely I am to imagine you are offering anything your competitors aren't; you've just got more to spend tooting your horn. If you want to lash out for more than Name and Address (puhleeze!) the cheapest point form list of your services will do more good than expensive, no-content graphics. The people seduced by those aren't looking in the YP anyway.