Yes, the Yellow Pages industry has weathered all sorts of business climates in the past, but it has always managed not only to survive, but also evolve to meet current and future needs.

That is not a biased statement, by any account. Recent research data from the 2008 Yellow Pages Association Industry Usage Study conducted by Knowledge Networks/Statistical Research, Inc. (KN/SRI) actually confirms this.

According to the Usage Study, overall Yellow Pages usage is on the rise the combination of print and online references rose to 17.2 billion in 2007, up from 16.7 billion in 2006.

The breakdown demonstrates the power of our multiplatform medium. Internet Yellow Pages usage has experienced double-digit growth, climbing to 3.8 billion references in 2007 (comScore 2007), and print directory usage remains stable with 13.4 billion annual references.

The KN/SRI study also revealed that the Yellow Pages reach consumers who are ready and able to make purchases. 86% of those surveyed made a purchase or were likely to do so after referencing the print Yellow Pages. Among those making a purchase after referencing the Internet Yellow Pages, 51% were new customers to the business they chose. For print Yellow Pages, 39% were new customers to the business they selected.

Regarding the demographic profile of Internet Yellow Pages users, the study found that 80% have some level of college education and 62% earn a household income of $60,000 or more annually. The results also showed that 75% live in counties with a population of 150,000 or more and 70% are married. This sophisticated demographic profile is, in fact, one that many businesses target.

The study also found that many of the top U.S. DMA markets have a very large population of print Yellow Pages users. In fact, more people in cities including Charlotte, N.C., Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, and Seattle reference the print Yellow Pages per week than the national average.

It is evident from the just-released KN/SRI Yellow Pages usage study results that our medium is one that has successfully evolved to consistently provide the directory products and services that meet and exceed the needs of users and advertisers alike, shared Larry Small, Director of Research for the Yellow Pages Association. The proof is in the numbers no spin necessary.

By Elizabeth Gage | Comments Off

Can Wikipedia’s traffic ever be independent of search engines? Experience alone will tell you that they rely greatly on search engine results for their heavy traffic, with Wikipedia pages often popping up in first page if not the first results of search engine windows, especially in Google.

New statistics from a recent Nielsen Online survey reaffirms this. Here are some results a rundown on top referring sites that generate home users from the US, for April 2008:

Google – 61%

Yahoo Search – 19%

Wikipedia – 11%

MSN Search – 5%

AOL Search – 3%

According to Search Engine Land, the results above prove that 61% of browsers who were referred to Wikipedia in some way came from Google. Here are the top sites that generate work users:

Google - 66%

Yahoo Search – 16%

Wikipedia – 9%

MSN Search – 6%

AOL Search – 4%

It makes one wonder how the search engine giant is handling such findings and how, more importantly, they can capitalize on it? All that traffic Google sends to Wikipedia is one reason that many suspect Google would like to have its own Wikipedia alternative, wrote Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land. Google Knol – Google’s Play To Aggregate Knowledge Pages covers more about this, though that particular project has yet to happen.

By Elizabeth Gage | Comments (0)

Can the Yellow Pages reasonably deliver customized highly relevant ad content within each niche social network site? That was the question posed by Michael Taylor in the Kelsey Group blog.

He seems confident it will. Since the social networking phenomena began I have been an advocate of the Yellow Pages developing a platform for niche social networks since directories covers such a broad array of topics and content that can be related to highly conversational topics such as travel, music, legal, weddings, new mothers, retirement, interior design, home improvement, etc., he wrote on May 14.

Providing a forum and platform on Yellow Page owned sites for niche social networks has the upside of creating ongoing site traffic by offering a multitude of topics to cover given the more than 5,000 headings and sub-topics that could be created and discussed based on these headings.

According to Taylor, social networking site owners would also have the ability to take advantage of both the rich local Yellow Pages advertising content and its online advertising network agreements to monetize each niche social site in a broader niche social media network. Having such a large base of local advertisers and enhanced local content, Yellow Page companies could reasonably deliver customized highly relevant ad content within each niche social network site, he said.

He raised a good point: this is one opportunity where Yellow Pages publishers could lead and play a major role, rather than follow or act as sub-agents for the larger portals and major social network providers. The real benefits would come in the form of increased traffic, narrow targeting opportunities for advertisers, additional revenue opportunities and leadership in the fast emerging social marketing space.

Winnipeg, MAY 23, 2008 – Elizabeth Gage, President & CEO of PCM International Inc. (a market research, ad placement and ad monitoring business with offices in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto), won the Overall Excellence award at this year’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award gala, hosted by Women Business Owners of Manitoba at the Convention Centre on May 22nd. In addition to the Overall Excellence award, Elizabeth Gage also won the Building Business award.

Winners were also announced in the following categories:
Excellence in Service: Karen McMechan, Karen’s Fashions (Melita)
Contribution to Community: Tara Potter, Thompson Water Factory Ltd. (Thompson)
Home Enterprise: Michle Lecuyer-Hutton, Acc’s Direct Promotions
International Trade: Lewena Bayer, The Civility Group Inc.
Impact on Local Economy: Nadine Coubrough, VERICO One Link Mortgage & Financial
Emerging Business: Kristina Poturica, Rituals in Hair and Skin
Lifetime Achievement: Claudette Griffin, L.J. Baron Realty (Teulon)

“We congratulate all the winners and pay tribute to each and every woman who was a finalist in this challenging process,” said Yvonne Thompson, President of WBOM and Principal Consultant at Change Innovators Inc. “Charting your own course by owning your own business brings both challenges and rewards. The Woman Entrepreneur of the Year gala puts the spotlight on Manitoba women who are embracing those challenges head-on and who are reaping the rewards of the risks they take every day.”

The gala, MC’d by Polly Craik, President and CEO of FineLine Communications, well attended, with more than 500 people in attendance.

Women represent a growing economic force in Canada:

Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian economy: 4 out of 5 businesses are started by women; between 1991 and 2001, women’s self-employment increased by 43%.

The 821,000+ women entrepreneurs in Canada annually contribute in excess of $18 billion to the economy.

The number of women-owned businesses that focus on manufacturing, construction, transportation and communications is growing rapidly

Women Business Owners of Manitoba
P.O. Box 2748
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4B3
Tel: (204) 775-7981
Fax: (204) 897-8094
Email: info@wbom.ca

Consumers may not always acknowledge how online product reviews of the items they purchase (or do not purchase) on the Web affect their decisions.

But it’s hard to deny the fact that perception plays a big part here, and that reviews do enhance a product’s credibility, no matter if the reviewer is expert or a fellow random consumer. In a recent post, NetBusinessBlog explains:

*People are social researchers
Internet users have access to vast information right at their fingertips. They conduct research before they pay for something. For example, the Kelsey Group discovered that around 24% of Internet users search for information on offline products and service including hotels and accommodations online. 87% of the hotel searchers who read reviews stated that product reviews greatly influenced their choices.
*Negative reviews are positive

Don’t look at negative reviews negatively because it can actually add to the credibility of your site. So what if one person says something bad about you? It is impossible to please everyone and you really need not worry if you get one or two bad reviews. Internet users are becoming sophisticated; it does not bother them to read negative information about a company as long as the positive feedback outweighs the negative.