Yellow Pages is Dead!
Date: March 29, 2013Category: Author: David Hall
Here at Infinity Dental Web we subscribe to a monthly training update conference call from Search Engine News that is called the “Mastermind” meeting, where we discuss issues with SEO experts.
In the March session, SEO expert Casey Markee made an interesting statement. One of the participants shared a problem he was having with the online Yellow Pages who had added a call tracking number to his client’s listing, which was harming his client’s Google Maps ranking. Local Search expert Mary Bowling gave him some advice about navigating through the Yellow Pages bureaucracy to get this fixed, and then Casey Markee chimed in with his advice.
“The Yellow Pages are going to be dead in five years,” he said.
“Honestly, I would try to tell your client to get out now. Can he survive without the Yellow Pages? Absolutely, hands down, no hesitation on that statement at all. This is the reason why the Yellow Pages are going to be dead. They don’t realize that this is an adverse consequence for the client.”
He followed up with a story that he was talking about with fellow SEO expert David Nihm at Local U, a recent conference about local search. David Nihm is convinced that the Yellow Pages were dead a while back. He was doing some research on behalf of a client that was being sold an online package from the Yellow Pages, and the cost was working out to $25 per search for the client – a laughable amount.
Casey went on, “Their business model is completely broken, and this is an example.”
There are two basic problems with Yellow Pages listings. First is that they don’t deliver. They don’t understand the Internet and search, and what you pay them would go much further if it were invested in organic search. Or, if the client wants to use paid advertising, Mary and Casey both recommended considering using AdWords Express instead.
The second problem is more sinister. In an effort to prop up their failing business model, the Yellow Pages will often install a call tracking number on your listing. Then, when you get calls through this number, they point to that to demonstrate their value to you. The problem is that this number then gets “scraped” by other directories, and it gets mixed in with your business identity. When Google discovers this inconsistency in the data about your business, your business listings ranking suffers.
Link: Click here to read about Infinity Dental Web’s business listing services.
Your article is right on point and only scratches the surface of the damage done by these companies employees who have little or no formal training in the nuances of marketing and advertising on search engines.