Why You Should Replace Yellow Pages Listings With Online Local Listings

By Author: Angela Stringfellow
Total Articles: 8
Comment this article

Print advertising, despite becoming less effective and being far less efficient than various forms of internet advertising, remains very expensive. Businesses are starting to understand the benefit of reallocating their print advertising dollars to internet mediums, and are receiving impressive returns on their investments.

Think about the last time you were searching for a local business. Did you dig out your phonebook that sits at the bottom of your deepest kitchen junk drawer, or did you sit down at your computer and type the business name in the Google search box? Maybe you didn't know the specific name of the business you were looking for, but you knew you were looking for a Thai restaurant in Denver. You probably brought up the same Google search engine and typed in Thai restaurant, Denver, Colorado.

When your search results appeared, you had thousands of listings appear, but above that, in the upper left hand area of your internet browser window, were local businesses , links to their websites, if applicable, and even their contact information . Maybe you decided that you would order ...
... takeout and have it delivered instead of driving out to the restaurant - after you noticed the description that notified you that the restaurant offers free delivery.

Studies have shown that internet users eyes tend to gravitate towards hot spots of the computer screen first - the same general area where the search engine listings appear, starting with the first listing. Local listings appear in this exact region, even before the first search listing ! With local listings, it's possible to achieve optimal placement in the browser window without having to spend thousands of dollars on a website and search engine optimization. You don't even need a website to have your business listed in local search results.

Search engines are rapidly replacing print directories as the most used medium for searching for business contact information. It's becoming faster and a much more comprehensive resource than the yellow pages. In addition, frustrations are eliminated using search engines to search for business information, such as different phone books having different inclusion criteria. Certain phone directories only list businesses in the yellow pages, and then it becomes a guessing game to determine under which category you might find what you're looking for.

With local search listings, you have the option of being listed under multiple categories, and you can have a more detailed description of the services you provide. In a local search listing, you can include not only your phone number, but your physical address, website address, hours of operation, and email addresses.

There are more than eighty-five primary search engines and directories that are most often used for finding business information online. Most are free, and while it would be time consuming to input your information into every single one, there are services available that can include your business in these listings for a price less than what a basic yellow page ad would cost.

Don't miss out on a huge portion of your potential customers because you're not included in the local search listings. Capture your entire audience by building your online presence!
Angela Stringfellow is a marketing communications consultant offering a range of services designed to help businesses maximize their exposure and perfect their marketing messages. To learn more about a local listing package for your business, visit http://www.stringfellowcreative.com/services/local_listings.htm