Industry naysayers and pessimistic analysts can eat their words over this one. According to two recent studies conducted by comScore and the KN/SRI Industry Usage Study, the 2007 Yellow Pages usage grew to 17.2 billion searches in 2007, up from 16.7 billion in 2006. The findings are encouraging, to say the least.

The reports, which were announced by the Yellow Pages Association on Feb. 26, also stated that print usage remained stable with 13.4 billion print Yellow Pages references, unchanged from 2006 (according to the 2007 Knowledge Networks/SRI Industry Usage Study); while the Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) searches increased 15 percent in 2007 to 3.8 billion, up from 2006′s 3.3 billion IYP searches (according to comScore).

Additional findings regarding Yellow Pages usage include: 1) approximately 87 percent of the U.S. population used the print Yellow Pages in 2007; 2) average number of monthly IYP searchers up 16 percent: 73 million IYP searchers per month in 2007, compared to 63.1 million IYP searchers per month in 2006; 3) of the 144 million people performing local searches online in December 2007, over half (51 percent) used IYPs.

The KN/SRI Industry Usage Study was based on 9,008 telephone interviews conducted last year. The research methods include use of a random digit dial sample with one adult selected at random in each contacted household. The comScore qSearch Local & IYP data employed a proprietary panel of one million U.S. panelists. These panelists agree to have their Internet behavior confidentially monitored and captured anonymously.

In a statement, YPA president Neg Norton said: “The Yellow Pages medium is still a go-to resource for ready-to-buy consumers. Overall Yellow Pages usage increased in 2007 as Internet use continues to grow and print usage stabilizes. Combined with a 27:1 average sales ROI for national display advertisers, the Yellow Pages in all formats is a ‘must-buy’ medium for advertisers of all sizes.”