According to industry experts, in the past years, hard-bound Yellow Pages usage by consumers has dropped each year, while search engine usage has grown 55% from 2004 to 2005 alone. Each day, businesses see the advantages of having a website as they recognize that more and more customers are hitting the internet on a daily basis.
What's that mean for you? In a nutshell, if you're still relying solely on the Yellow Pages to attract new customers, you're losing out on business. Now, that's not to say you should cancel your advertising today! No, not at all; the Yellow Pages has it's place and if it's been working for you, then keep at it.
But, as an additional advertising method, you must get online now. And here are seven reasons why:
You have more space. Unless you have a huge advertising budget, it's most likely your Yellow Page ad is small, maybe just a few precious lines. With a web site, you have as many pages as you need to sell your products or services.
More measurable traffic. Do you know how many new customers you received from your Yellow Pages ad yesterday, last week, last year? Probably not. With a web site, you can monitor your traffic daily, so you know exactly how many visitors reached your site.
Build loyalty...before a customer ever meets you. Create ways to interact with potential clients, building their trust in you, by developing newsletter, offering coupons, or helpful free advice. Can you do that with your Yellow Pages ad?
Advantage over the competition. Everyone takes a Yellow Pages ad. And unless your business starts with "AAAA" or you have unlimited funds for huge one-page ads, your business can get easily lost in the shuffle. With a properly done web site, you can get to the top of the search engine rankings, regardless of your name or budget.
Open new markets. The internet is a global marketplace, reaching visitors from all over the world. How far does your Yellow Pages ad reach?
Create new revenue streams. You may discover new ways to market your products or services to clients around the world, allowing more ways to make money.
Cost. Quite simply, the cost of a domain name and hosting are a fraction of what a Yellow Pages ad costs, yet it serves you and your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has the potential to reach billions of people.
Do you understand now how a small business web site can generate new clients or customers for you, beyond your expectations?
If not, maybe this true story will convince you. A dentist practicing in a mid-size California city wanted to build his business. Let's call him Dr. B. He tried everything to reach his community: newspaper ads, Yellow Pages, coupons, and mailers. But none generated the leads Dr. B wanted.
Then he built a web site. In the first month, his web site received a measly 26 visitors. However, within nine months, that same web site was averaging 1800 unique visitors a month, with 22 of those becoming new patients! Fast forward three years and Dr. B's small business web site generates 25 new patients a month for him, some coming from as much as 120 miles away. That is the power of web site.
So why isn't your small business on the internet yet?
There is probably no living soul who does not know the power of the Internet, and its business potential. Functions necessarily thrive on sponsorships in order to be successful, since operating costs can get quite significant. Since the web costs money, it is customary for sponsors to bear a share of the expense.
The community of the great web is similar to other media. The web is practically a sprawling fair ground for thriving and established businesses, in an effort to stake their share of the user's attention, and hopefully generate good business in the process. With numerous corporations sprawled all over and across the vast area of open cyberspace, it's but natural for a user to be hindered by limitations when searching for a particular product or service, unless he knows the particular domain which the company has taken on.
That is why business web directories seem to be indispensable.
Business web directories function very much like every other search engine: the user types a query or keyword which is related to a particular topic in mind, and the search engine processes all content within its database which has any relation to the keyword.
. Business web directories differ since they focus mainly on topics of business and financial content. For example a query keyword of 'stock' may bring results containing the word of varied topics in a general search engine, but with a business web directory, the list would only contain topics which leans to the business context of the word, such as 'stock options' or 'stock market.'
Business web directories have a database containing numerous business articles which may be of assistance to the user who may be looking for content of specific nature, or for those who are still unsure of what to look, for but may have a vague idea concerning a topic.
When one is talking about business articles, one is talking about a wide range of things -- right from setting up a business to naming a brand. Users can also browse business documents of varied content, some are available free of charge while some require a viewing or download fee. Content can be anything from documents of rights acquisition to a copy of a corporation's in-house policies.
Business web directories generate a substantial part of their income from paid advertisements and sponsorships, as well as paid links which are published on the site. .
When a surfer comes across a page on a business web directory, they will quite likely encounter sponsored ads first. Regular advertisements are also a main source for income, since companies pay high premiums in having their company ad posted on the header or sides of a page.
Sponsorship could be on the basis of impression, clicks, or it might be based on the time that the ad will remain on the business directory page. Some advertisers might even offer a share of their profits. Such arrangements are called affiliate ads.
Both Jennifer Mcvey & Ajeet Khurana are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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