Remember the phone book? That heavy thing that sat in your kitchen drawer and that you would try to throw at your sister? For our younger readers, when men weren’t trying to rip it in half as proof of their strength, this was where you could find all the listed numbers for residences in your area, public information like community services, municipality listings and, of course, the Yellow Pages.
The Yellow Pages used to be THE place to advertise your message in a local area. If you wanted your driveway resealed, an exterminator, your fence repaired, a new roof (yes, these are all things I need to do this spring), you flipped to that section in the Yellow Pages and could find several companies vying for your business.
Of course, the way we communicate and advertise has changed so much–and it looks like it might change some more. Google is now beta-testing a Yellow Pages like product in Texas and northern California . The rumored price is $300/year for “display-like advertising.” If that’s true, it would represent a huge savings over what people are paying now for Yellow Page advertising in some markets.
Of course, Yellow Pages has a very robust Internet site – they’re touting that they get 125 million searches each month. Also, yp is very easy to use and offers mobile apps, toolbar add-ons and more. This will be a very interesting battle to watch over the next year or so.
Listen to what Clark Howard of the HLN network has to say about all of this:
Readers, let us know what you think? Do you still use your phone book? Do you visit the Yellow Pages website? Please comment below!
