yellow pages v Yell.com v Google v anything else!

[matz]

ta for replies everyone. Woodyoulike, you're situation is very similar to mine from an internet/ search engine site placings point of view except my site isn't getting the hits I need. Theres only two possible reasons for this (1) people that want my trade don't use search engines to find it (2) people just don't want my trade full stop. I'm in antique furniture restoration, quite specialised and certainly the demand for this sort of service has been consistently dropping off during the years I've been in it.

Regarding Yell.com, my thinking would be if people ain't googling my service in my local area, they ain't going to be using Yell.com. This is the big question. Would people consistently use Yell.com but not a search engine to search for a tradesman. Chatting with someone today, they told me they'd never Google as you get so much rubbish come up whereas Yell.com, you're straight in to hard relevant info. Yellow pages seem to be for OAPs and alot of people can't be bothered to even open the book IMHO

 

[Thermo]

i think people are more likely to look at yell.com rather than google to find a local company

 

[matz]

i think people are more likely to look at yell.com rather than google to find a local company

I guess thats nail on the head for me!

What do others think?

I think I'm overestimating peoples interest in googling for a local tradesman.

Yell.com told me, the yell.com classification had 131 hits last month for my trade in my area. What sort of hits rate to their website is everyone else getting via yell.com? --- woodyoulike??

 

[WoodYouLike]

i think people are more likely to look at yell.com rather than google to find a local company

I guess thats nail on the head for me!

What do others think?

I think I'm overestimating peoples interest in googling for a local tradesman.

Yell.com told me, the yell.com classification had 131 hits last month for my trade in my area. What sort of hits rate to their website is everyone else getting via yell.com? --- woodyoulike??

I can only talk about our own experience. Thermo, we are 'hit' through google by many local people searching on: wooden flooring Kent or Ashford or Maidstone or even Charing. We don't get many 'hits' from yell.com on flooring service Ashford / Maidstone / Kent.

We haven't started 'haggling' with the YP people yet, renew is due shortly and then the 'fun' starts. I know they will bring in the stats of the last year again, but I have my own web tracker that shows where most visitors are coming from.

I do know of course that amount of visitors to your site doesn't mean all sales, but it's a first point of contact. Then the webmarketing really starts: trying to keep them on your site, to 'research' you site further and ultimately the first 'call for action' (either email, download, phone call or visit to showroom).

As for WoM, totally agree. It takes a while to 'kick-off' but here you can also 'help'. We implemented an 'automagical' reminder program: i.e. every 6 months our existing customer gets a nice letter from us, reminding them about maintenance and about the incentive to recommend us to others ('price' is a free maintenance service). Marketing is becoming a very profitable 'hobby' of me but it needs time, effort and a lot of trial and error - what works for you, what doesn't work for you.

 

[Nige F]

. If I was a plumber in Brighton and I'd had my website built properly, my website would almost certainly be in the top three if not No 1 in Google results if a householder in brighton keyed in 'plumber Brighton' a local search for the type of service I offer. Seems black and white to me,

Would be more lucrative in Pink , in Brighton

 

[DiggerBoy]

I'm a bit miffed with the Yellow Pages and Yell.com packages - I'm going to put my neck on the line and say they're just not good value for money for us. And far too easy to haggle with, indicating their inflated headroom when it comes to pricing their packages.

However, it's always in the back of your mind that your competitors are all in their anyway so maybe...just maybe... it'll be worth a YP or Y.com listing one day. Not so far though!

Our plant hire website comes up with pretty decent results through Google and others - ie. usually at the top or bottom of the first page.

2/3 of my customers are domestic/private, the rest trade. Problem is domestic customers don't provide repeat business with good regularity. So, how do I pick up more trade customers to swing the balance the other way?? I want 2/3 trade and 1/3 private customers. But from what a lot of you guys are saying on here, trades don't search google for suppliers!

Instantly, preferably!

 

[Diyisfun]

My company spends £25k+ on yellow pages/yell.com, all adds are web linked & or have 0800 numbers. I get all the reports from the 0800 numbers, so we do know what areas work & dont work. We have specific adds for different parts of the business. What we do know is that local advertising is expensive & does not work, but having a good web site gets rankings and the hits.

ps
We also spend about £18k on Thomson pages, they are equally successful.

 

[bernardgreen]

Theres only two possible reasons for this (1) people that want my trade don't use search engines to find it (2) people just don't want my trade full stop. I'm in antique furniture restoration, quite specialised and certainly the demand for this sort of service has been consistently dropping off during the years I've been in it.

Have you considered "advertising" at auctions where antique furniture is traded ? Either with paid adverts or by mingling with the bidders and introducing yourself.

 

[gas4you]

My company spends £25k+ on yellow pages/yell.com, all adds are web linked & or have 0800 numbers. I get all the reports from the 0800 numbers, so we do know what areas work & dont work. We have specific adds for different parts of the business. What we do know is that local advertising is expensive & does not work, but having a good web site gets rankings and the hits.

ps
We also spend about £18k on Thomson pages, they are equally successful.

Wow, you must be a large company with an advertising budget such as this, especially if you are sticking to the recomended 'no more than 5% of your turnover on advertising'.

I personally have never had any success from Thomson and have never used Yell.com or yellow pages, except the corgi corporate page.

Most of my work is word of mouth, but I do get a lot of hits on my web sites, which I monitor weekly. It appears that google, msn and yahoo give me the most hits, although i only really count the number of visits, hits are very misleading hype!

I also use a couple of parish magazines, which are very cheap and very cost effective and target a specific audience.

 

[Diyisfun]

.

I also use a couple of parish magazines, which are very cheap and very cost effective and target a specific audience.

We have tried church mags, charity programes, wall planners, etc. You name it we try it.
As the boss says 'you have to dip your toe in the water'. (he dips his in Spanish water. )
Unfortunatly Im only an employee.

 

[Thermo]

has anyone that uses yellow pages or yell.com managed to haggle with them?

 

[wilhelm]

somebody dropped a yellow pages and a directory in my porch..and they are still their. I usually use argos catologues as a backstop , when im zeroing my gun . .......and ive got a feeling yellow pages is next.

 

[Diyisfun]

has anyone that uses yellow pages or yell.com managed to haggle with them?

The only deals seem to be discounts if you go into different areas & by useing yell.com

 

[DiggerBoy]

Got a bit of a discount for signing up to Yell.com at the same time.

One YP rep was insistant that the Business Pages edition was the way forward. I didn't go for it. Anyone else signed up to it, and is it worthwhile?

 

[Thermo]

we have not been that impressed.

Going back to your market and problems digger boy, do you have the friday ad up your way? That by far has been the best source of advertising for us for well over three years, we got a lot of enquiries every week from it that turn into jobs. Also a lot of people dont advertise during winter in it and we pick up a lot of business over those months because we are one of the only ones there so they ring us. Very noticeable as well. up to easter i can do a quote and i have a good hit rate and usually get an answer within a few days. once easter comes and everyone starts asvertising in it, it takes up to a month before thye give an answer as i assume they are going to the countless other ones that advertise