Internet Yellow Pages gets a boost-

[Wolley Segap]

Bell South & SBC Give Internet Yellow Pages A Boost.

Despite all the focus on local web-based search lately, the recent announcement from Bell South and SBC reinforces Internet Yellow Pages (“IYP”) as the superior local-search model…and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It also illustrates the strong position print YP publishers are in with respect to the future of how consumers will find local products and services online.

The investment in YellowPages.com buys more than just the most highly-branded URL in the history of local search. The new company will re-launch this national IYP site with two very powerful, established sales forces and deep pockets for marketing. Eventually, the integration of SmartPages.com and RealPages.com traffic will give this property in excess of a 50 Million uniques per-month; making it #1 in the market. Dennis Payne, president and CEO of SBC Directory Operations stated "To be a leader in online yellow pages, you need two things - traffic and strong local advertising relationships, this new venture gives us both."

The print model works online just as it has offline for over 100 years - and IYP works just like the print product; reaching “ready-to-buy” shoppers (as opposed to search engines – which are more research oriented). Complete, accurate, geographically relevant results, organized in a more structured “heading” format… print YP is the “original search engine” and IYP is simply the digital version - one without any distribution boundaries or usage restrictions. Every business is listed and local advertisers can easily get linked. The user experience is efficient and familiar. Additional content such as maps/directions and hours of operation are usually included as well.

3rd quarter 2004 Comscore research reinforces IYP strengths:
1. IYP provides greater conversion rates than search engines. IYP users who “buy” within one week has jumped from 17.1% in 2002 to 34.3% in 2004.
2. Requested search results are delivered more accurately, more often; as demonstrated by so-called “leakage” or “stickiness” data.
3. IYP is also the fastest growing vertical within broadband usage.

Potential challenges with this new company will include the local accuracy of content, including completeness of new merged/purged data. The new YellowPages.com will need to ensure the quality of their product outside the “home” Bell South/SBC states. Partnering with existing feet-on-the-street sales forces will help fill in the holes outside existing proprietary regions. Telemarketing support would also be a no-brainer.

Also on my wish-list - cleaning-up the typical mapping issues which exist in most IYP products and building synonym tables to ensure quick results. Additionally, aggregating deep advertiser content (such as that found in print yellow page ads) would ensure this IYPs position as a valuable local search product. Emerging companies such as Premier Guide of Palo Alto, California understand the importance of common misspellings and keyword search at the local SME level; their technology allows for successful searching using terms such as “plumers 24 hour credit card”.

The future pricing model will be critical to further SME adoption. Links and advertising need to be kept as simple as possible - preferably a fixed, monthly charge. As several panel members at last weeks Kelsey ILM conference discussed; cost-per-click models are simply too complicated for most local “mom & pop businesses” to manage.

This new partnership puts IYP back on the front burner. At a time when many Independent publishers are creating and launching their own online directories, this increased competition will have a positive effect on the industry as a whole. I think in the coming year the market will recognize the even greater value of IYP products within local search… but don’t listen to me, try it for yourself. I attempted to find a “drugstore” in “Larchmont, NY” through a recently-launched local search product within a popular search engine. The results delivered one listing several cities away, in Port Chester NY. The same search within a popular national IYP provided information for nine local Larchmont based businesses. Bingo. And all within three clicks.

Bell South and SBC have a great opportunity in this investment; let’s hope their efforts pay-off for the entire IYP industry.