September 27, 2007

Is Your Online Yellow Page Profile Page Enough (Update)

If you're a local business you probably invest in advertising in the paper yellow pages in your local community and also in their online version. It is something you should do. Of course other local opportunities that you should ensure your company is listed in, include the local search engines of Yahoo, Google, Live and Ask.

More and more people are simply typing Flowers 07022 to find a local florist near their zip code.

Is the web site you have only the profile page in your online yellow page directory listing? Is that enough? Have you invested in the content on that page? What about other pages where your business is listed?

Clickz writes At a Kelsey Group conference last week, one discussion focused on the fact that about half of all consumers who click on a local business site within the local profile at an IYP site or search engine hit the "back" button. Why? Most likely because of the lack of meaningful contained within the local business owner's site.

Another observation: local businesses that invested in profile pages didn't see that happen. A profile page is typically, a one-page Web site with well-organized and structured content. Though the number was never clearly quantified, it was noted that the number was meaningful.

If you want to ensure that customers visiting your web site don't just hit the back button and you turn the BROWSERS into BUYERS invest in adding as much relevant information to your profile web page. Maybe you're a dealer and being listed in the directory of your national vendor, invest in this profile page as well.

I would highly suggest that you do not only have a one page profile page but also invest the time and possibly money to ensure that you have your own web site with a domain name.

Ensure the content of this web site is robust and offers customers enough information to encourage them to buy from you and NOT from your competitor.

The Wall Street Journal writes how some yellow page directories are now enabling video messages in their advertisements.

Check out my 10 Business Web Site Musts.

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