Yellow Pages are Done

SEO has replaced the Yellow Pages in Nova Scotia

Once upon a time when you needed to find a local business in Nova Scotia you would pick up the super thick "yellow pages". As we all know due to the internet, the Yellow Pages don't work anymore. The premiere directories have migrated to the web and introduced new features, but still both traditional and online versions are struggling to adapt to a changing market. So how exactly do people find your business?

Unlike Yellow Pages which are projected to see a decline of 39% over the next four years, Search Engine Optimisation is on the rise and SEO spending is set to hit the $23.4 billion mark by 2013. Today search engines are the primary source for local business search queries and it is showing no sign of slowing down. In 2007 Bill Gates was quoted saying that "Yellow Page usage amongst people in their, say below 50, will drop to near zero over the next five years."

The cost of advertising with the Yellow Pages varies depending on the package and options selected, internet rates for some of our clients here in Nova Scotia were reaching up to $1500/month. Not only is Search engine optimization a fraction of that price but you are unrestricted and your potential is limitless. If you invest $1500 - $2500/month into search engine optimization instead of the Yellow Pages you will see a much greater return on your investment, it's been discovered that SEO outperforms Yellow Pages by almost ten fold for local businesses.

Search engines have become the number one resource for people to search for services, products and information, intelligent businesses are placing their budgets into search engine optimisation to make sure it's their website which sits on page 1 in Google. Although it is becoming more popular many business owners are still unsure about the real value of SEO. With over 80% of internet users now finding your website via a search engine it's important that you don't undervalue the effectiveness of SEO.

Are the Yellow Pages and other directories heading towards oblivion based on the above projections? Not just yet, these companies are too smart and will try relentlessly to get back a grip of the market share. Although I do believe just like cassette tapes, video tapes, phone booths, floppy drives and calculator watches the Yellow Pages will soon become obsolete, the changes being made are not working. Visitors to online yellow pages remain fairly low, and it's showing no signs of picking up. Competition between online directory services means that no single website has been able to take hold.