Any of you fellow warriors pay to be on (yellowpages) YP.COM?? Worth it??

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Hey guys, I got a call from a yellowpages rep today. At first I was like , let me stop you, I do seo ETC. and I'm not interested. But I was nice and heard him out.

Basically he showed me that that there are 200 and some searches a month for web designers in my city on YP.com. He said I could get a listing at the top, (the ones with the blue background) . He said my position wont change, I will be at the very top for Web Design for 12 months, and right now, he can do it for 100 dollars a month, or 1200 a yr.

He then gave me the whole return on investment speech and how one converting lead or maybe 2 will pay for it , and he estimated I'd get about 17 - 24 calls a week in that position at the top. I have to say I'm considering trying it.

Please share your experiences , and if you guys are listed on YP.com and if it is worth it.

Thanks
#offline marketing #fellow #pay #warriors #worth #yellowpages #ypcom
  • In my opinion, not worth it. The sites they build are c**p and they don't offer anything you can't do yourself or have done for less then they want.

    In my experience people go to Google and click on the first few links. They don;t go to YP to do a search.

    Put that money into a good quality site & SEO
  • Holy freakin' crap. Go to your previous triple posts (2 of 'em) and Edit, Go Advanced, and Delete.
  • Sorry about the triple posting of tihis, not sure what happened and I cant find the delete button even after I hit go advanced..

    Also I'm not talking about getting a YP website. I know those are crappy. What I would be paying 100 a month for is to show up as a sponsered result at the top, whenever anyone searches webdesign on YP.com which he says gets over 200 searches a month (on YP.com)..... I' m not choosing between this or SEO,.... I just think with the number of searches on YP and showing up at the top for that search could possibly get some phone calls. So I thought I'd see is or has paid to be listed on YP.com
  • Ok, I understand better now what your asking. But my opinion is still the same. There are so many options available for you to get traffic (calls). I think your money could be better spent.

    I guess I'm negative because I did the YP thing last year got a big goose egg in calls. The rep called for me to renew and couldn't understand why I wouldn't give it a try for another year. Sheesh......... because I didn't get any work that's why.
  • Lol. When is the last time YOU used yellow pages? Ask 10 people you know "When was the last time you used yellow pages" -

    No one uses yellow pages, and the business owners get raped by yellow pages, this is exactly something I address when I talk to them.

    YP is just a way to qualify that business owners are spending $$$ on advertising, and nothing more.

    Keep an eye out for my letter -

    Ryan
  • 100 BUCKS PER MONTH....?

    I WOULD DO IT. Small price to pay for 17 calls per month or even 10

    If those stats are accurate its a no brainer.

    You would pay a salesman 100 bucks to $1,000 commission on a sale... why not pay ten bucks per interested call in?

    You should close at least 30% on those terms.
    • [3] replies
    • At first I was going to say no then I saw
      that you said that he showed you the proof
      that you got 200 searches in your city alone

      If you were just to close a few of those your
      Roi will be thru the roof

      Go with your gut on this one.

    • The question is where did the sales guy get the stats from?

      Did he pull them out of his *ss like some people do? or are they real?

      if they are real, i would do it, leads that call you are a LOT easier to close
      they are half way sold before you even talk to them.
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • Thanks John. I really value your opinion. This is what I was thinking. I know there are thousands of people searching google every month for web design in my city but if there are only 200 plus searches a month on YP.com, and if I get even 10% of the phone calls , then only close 3 a month..wow..and im being crazy conservative right now..... that would be a crazy ROI.

      ..... and like I said even one client per month would be at least 5 to 6 times return on my investment and that is if I only charge 500 per site....... If I charge 1000 and get one a month, thats 12000 for a 1200 dollar investment......

      Google is way more powerful and valuable than Yp.com..... but...... i wish someone with experience would chime in.......again He showed me where i would show up...... and if someone types in webdesign "my city" ..... I would be at the very top, and highlighted........ So I really believe I would get calls...... I just want someone to tell me otherwise or get others experiences before i commit...
      • [1] reply
  • How big is your city?

    Also, $100/month = $1,200/year so it's not like your getting a deal with the longer contract.

    17-24 calls a week is pretty generous.

    - Give it a one month test run and see how it goes. If he pushes for a longer contract, then stop and think why he is trying to bind you to one year.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I think you better try other methods to get traffic. But if you feel you want to go for it then give it a test with a short period contract. You can then make your own decisions after that. Otherwise many business people nowadays rarely use yellow pages because there are other alternatives to the rental charges of YP companies.
  • I recommend a testing period if it can be availed, say for two weeks for a small fee and then you would continue based on the results
  • Didn't read the whole thread - but at $100 for a month - why don't you just try it? What do you have to lose, a whopping $100? That's nothing. Give it a go.
    • [1] reply
    • Like I said previously. I had poor luck with YP. Only one competitor in the area uses it. In my experience the sales people are very pushy. I would be sceptical of any search volume numbers he gives you.

      Regardless every city is different, every niche is different. My result may be different then yours. My business clients are pretty good about talking with me about business. I sent out a survey last year asking How do you search for Suppliers, venders, etc. YP was one of the options. No one ticked it. That spoke volumes to me.

      Ask yourself, how often do you go to a third party search engine?
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • YP is a joke, seriously. My current client got pitched by YP, they came out to his house, offered him an SEO/Listing package for like 1K a month, and guess what? Yellow pages is doing the same package already for his #1 competitor. Essentially the salesman was trying to sell my client on the fact that "hey we got your competitor to number 1 in SEO, you can be our client to" -

    This was right before he decided to go with me, he is glad he didn't, he was baffled that they were promising to him, what his number 1 competitor has. He knows his number 1 competitor well to.

    YP is sleezy, but hey maybe in this situation your $100 bucks for 30 days will be worth your time.

    How much is this keyword getting searched in your city on Google? Is it more or less than what he is promising?

    From what I have been reading through the thread, you are sold on the idea already.

    Ryan
  • Yellow pages is for old people that never wanted to learn how to use a computer lol. My questions is basically, would you offer YP services to your potential customers? I hope not and as a marketer we understand that YP doesn't work as effectively as what we do (SEO, Facebook, Twitter, Etc.) They are thieves and promise a lot and deliver very very little.
  • Thanks again guys, I appreciate you sharing. I'm not sold for sure yet. It's just the risk is so low vs the possible return (if the search numbers he gave are accurate)....... but I'm going to think it over and do some more research before pulling the trigger.
  • LOL, sounds like the YP salesman has done his job and is going to convert a SEO guy...you sound like the people I have to convince that google rankings are much better then old YP even if there online...and your in the business...funny.
    Next time your on the phone with a client just tell them, what the hell try YP its on $100 bucks its not gonna hurt. and then tell him you charge $500 mth and see if you get the business.
  • is there any minimum Contract length? if you find out its not worth it, but stuck in a 12 month or even longe rcontract, that would suck, but if you can quit on a monthly basis, its maybe worth a try
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    Any of you fellow warriors pay to be on (yellowpages) YP.COM?? Worth it??

    Hey guys, I got a call from a yellowpages rep today. At first I was like , let me stop you, I do seo ETC. and I'm not interested. But I was nice and heard him out. Basically he showed me that that there are 200 and some searches a month for web designers in my city on YP.com. He said I could get a listing at the top, (the ones with the blue background) . He said my position wont change, I will be at the very top for Web Design for 12 months, and right now, he can do it for 100 dollars a month, or 1200 a yr.