In a word, leads. Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) is an interesting medium. When implemented correctly (localised content whenever possible, tracked properly with call tracking as well as analytics), IYP can provide tremendous value to advertisers. Many times I am asked: “Well, which one should I be in?” The answer is not as simple as one-and-done when advertising on IYP sites.
comScore research continuously demonstrates that users are loyal to IYP sites. In fact, only 3% of consumers use more than one IYP. That means that 97% of the time, consumers are loyal to one engine. Thinking about it another way – it could mean that if you are only advertising on one IYP, you are giving your market share away to competitors that advertise on multiple sites.
comScore lists over 180 directory sites, comprising over 300 web properties. That said, when looking at site usage, there is only a handful of directory (IYP) sites in DAC’s consideration set for the traditional IYP media platform. To that end, we monitor the share that these sites have within their competitive set month over month.
Still, we often get asked about the value that IYP can bring to the table. In some programs, the IYP component offers 6-10% of total lead volume. In that case, it has come under the microscope many times. However, when we have decreased/stopped advertising in the medium (IYP), the leads have not been picked up elsewhere. So, while in this particular case it may only contribute 6-10% of lead volume, it’s still volume that is not picked up elsewhere, and therefore valuable to our client.
In another case study of perception versus reality of IYP, an advertiser indicated that they believed that advertising on IYP was a ‘necessary evil’. When I asked about this further, the client indicated that they felt it was more of a customer service placement, and not a lead generating placement. DAC did a call monitoring and disposition study for this particular client across a number of their marketing campaigns. In revealing the data and results, the client was very pleasantly surprised to find that nearly 40% of all calls to the IYP placements were new customers to the business. With respect to the campaigns we were tracking, IYP was in the top 5 of campaigns driving the most lead/sales volume.
The bottom line: IYP can and does offer incredible value to an advertising campaign by driving new sales and customers to our client’s businesses. This happens when the campaign is implemented correctly with content-rich advertising, dynamic offers (when applicable), localised content wherever possible and, most importantly, call/web tracking and analytics.
Contact DAC today for more information!
