Recently the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Yellow Pages Facing Extinction” where reporter Emily Steel painted a pretty grim picture of the Yellow Pages industry. However, for the most part, she presented a very one-sided view of the industry.

While I concede that there are some publishers bleeding, especially in a down economy, there are many, many more that are doing very well and continue to drive fantastic value to their advertisers.

The big question in the industry revolves around the future of print directories versus the Internet. Publishers are turning to online solutions as people migrate steadily away from print directories. In the WSJ article, Emily writes, “The audience for online yellow pages remains relatively small, and traffic growth is slowing. So many directory services are vying for the ad dollars of local businesses that no single site has an authoritative roster.” I would heartily disagree with the contention that traffic growth is slowing. I am aware of many Internet Yellow Pages sites, including Yellow Assistance, that are experiencing rapid growth.

The issue with fragmentation among online yellow pages will continue as long as individual publishers continue to stand alone on local online directory platforms that have limited reach, no national scope, and little search engine exposure.  They will have trouble convincing local advertiser of the value their online offering brings versus search engine marketing.

We believe that if publishers can come together on a national internet yellow pages platform, they can generate an exponentially greater flow of traffic, which will in turn increase the value of their online ads, driving revenue. Yellow Assistance offers a platform that allows Directory Publishers to maintain their identity, but at the same time overcome fragmentation and deliver tremendous value to their advertisers through the collaboration of network traffic.

Through our Yellow Assistance Publisher Partner Program (YAP3), we provide publishers with a fully integrated Internet Yellow Pages site that is customized to their look, using their own domain name.  The platform includes a nationwide search engine of 19 million+ business listings.

The real power comes in the combination of directories that form the YAP3 network, which will enable participating Directory Publishers to combine their individuals sites into a national collaboration, leveraging network traffic, search engine visibility and revenue potential.

We believe so strongly in this platform’s ability to revolutionize the Yellow Pages Directory industry, we are offering it at no charge to Independent Directory Publishers. To learn more about YAP3, go to partner.yellowassistance.com and watch the features and benefits.

InDevX, Inc. has enjoyed strong growth by building innovative, creative and cost-effective digital marketing solutions for our clients in the Tulsa area and across the United States. Our management team has over 30 years of combined digital marketing experience and we are committed to providing our clients with outstanding service and exceptional applications/products.

As an employer, we are equally committed to recruiting and retaining the most talented professionals in our industry and rewarding those who excel in their roles. We seek people who believe in helping our customers transform the way they do business, and have the drive, determination and creativity to make it happen. We seek people who value a team environment, are motivated by individual and team success, are loyal and desire a long term employment relationship.

We are currently seeking Account Executives to join our sales team. This sales role will be focused on our portfolio of web based applications, including YellowAssistance and Sitendex, targeting businesses and other key markets. We are looking for high-energy individuals who are able to reach decision makers and establish relationships quickly. This position requires heavy outbound phone calls to executives, locally as well as across the US. Qualified candidates will be assertive, self-driven and outgoing individuals who have the ability to work well with others. We offer a ground-floor opportunity for the right candidates to excel in a professional working environment where daily, weekly, and monthly goals are expected to be met. We offer a base commensurate with candidate experience plus the ability to earn huge residual commissions. This is an outstanding opportunity for individuals who are driven to succeed.

Responsibilities:
• Pre-qualifying sales leads
• Presenting and explaining package application(s)
• Achieving sales objectives
• Contract negotiation and limited deployment support
• Recommending strategies based on awareness of competitive conditions
• Recommending product enhancements and modifications based on client and prospect feedback
• Maintain up-to-date customer and prospect records and participate in development of sales forecasts
• Punctual and consistent attendance

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• A passion for positive results
• Related sales experience required (3 to 5 Years)
• Proven track record of sales success
• Associate Degree (Bachelors Degree preferred)
• Ability to manage and effectively grow a sales territory; results oriented
• Polished presentation and communication skills
• Strong time management and multi-tasking skill set
• Exceptional follow through
• Proficient with computer software and technology
• Knowledge of web, software and social networking applications (Facebook/MySpace/LinkedIn etc.) preferred

Please e-mail your resume, salary requirements, and references to: sam.bein@indevx.com

At the Association of Directory Publishers’ Mid-Year Convention this week, the overriding theme was finding an answer to this question: “How do we continue to compete as more and more people move online for their local information?”  The concern is how to maintain their core printed product, which, although slowly declining, still remains the first source by 30% of consumers according to a study conducted by TMP Directional Marketing, while becoming profitable in the growing online markets.  I believe it was Jacqui Ponkey of Genesis Publisher Services who said, “It’s not about being in print or online, but about being in print AND online.”

The difficulty seems to be in devoting the extensive resources in time, money and staff to develop a viable and competitive online presence, then further effort to get consumers to use.  That’s why we have spent considerable resources developing our Yellow Assistance Publisher Partner Program (YAP3).

Through YAP3, we offering Independent Directory Publishers the ability to get online quickly with a privately-labled Internet Yellow Pages product at no cost to them.  That may seem crazy or too good to be true, but let me expound a bit on the thinking behind YAP3.

We know know the majority of print publishers either don’t have an online presence or have a poor representation on the web.  We also know that most online directories are not optimized for search engines, which means consumers aren’t using them.  We had the idea of developing a network of publisher sites built on the solid Yellow Assistance search platform, that would enable publishers to offer their own online advertising solution that complements their print product.  Through this network, publishers can broaden their advertisers’ exposure outside their market, benefiting everyone.

The reason we can offer this at no cost to publishers is simple.  We are looking at this network of publisher sites from a holistic vantage point.  The traffic generated from this network will create great momentum for future partnerships and exposure that a single site could not muster.  It allows a network of smaller publishers to compete in a jungle of 800-pound gorillas.

Learn more about YAP3 at Partner.YellowAssistance.com.  It’s risk free and a great way to give online a try.

Major Marketing Mistake Number 3: Failing to Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

When I was 16 years old, I worked at a restaurant that was built using actual train cars connected to a central building.  Patrons could dine in a caboose, passenger car, box car or mail car.  It had a lot of things going for it – unique dining experience, great food – yet it closed its doors after only a couple of years in business.  Why?  It was located off the beaten path, making it hard to find.  The result – not enough traffic.

This same scenario happens every day in digital marketing.  You take the time and make the investment for a great looking website with lots of bells and whistles, then let it sit there tucked away in a corner of cyberspace because no one knows it is there.

Now, you could spend a lot of money advertising on search engines, as well as traditional marketing outlets, to drive traffic to your website.  But wait!  There is a low cost (virtually free) way to bring your website out of obscurity.  By simply optimizing your website for search engines, you can bring your website to the top of search results for keywords related to your products and services.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO, for short) is the process of making your website search engine friendly.  Search engines crawl through websites to index and organize information that they will later use in search results. When a web crawler (also called a spider), from a search engine, like Google, visits your website it should be able to easily find and understand what your site is about by it’s structure and content.  The better a search engine sees the content of your website, the more likely it will rank well in search results.

Keywords
The first step in the SEO process is researching the words and phrases people use to find websites like yours. In order to rank well in web searches, you will need to orient your website to reflect these keywords and phrases.  Because most of these search terms are highly competitive, with many sites using them, you’ll want to find keywords that rank well, but are slightly out of the mainstream of keywords heavily used by your competition.

One of the simplest keyword research tools is Google Suggestion.  As you type a word or phrase into the Google search box, Google offers similar suggestions in real time.

Framework
Another key factor in the SEO process is the structure of your website. Creating a proper framework allows the search engine spiders to navigate through your site.

Search engines seek to view a website as an organic whole. While certain individual pages will sometimes rank better than others, the overall impression of your website factors into how this happens.

Content
When it comes to Search Engine Optimization, content is king. If you have interesting information to share, your website will not go unnoticed. Sharing relevant information throughout your site needs to be goal #1.  This is why people come to your website in the first place.  Think of search engine spiders like human web surfers, looking for content that is relevant and organized.

Search Engine Submission
As you make changes and update your website, it may be necessary to resubmit it to the search engines, so they are aware of the most current information on your site. Otherwise, it could take a month or more before they discover and reflect changes. It is your responsibility to ensure that the latest version or your site is available on the web.

Analysis
Tracking and analyzing the effects that your SEO efforts are having on your search engine rankings is an ongoing part of the process. By tracking the results you can analyze what works and what doesn’t. Look for trends in your rankings, as well as the type and quality of visitors who are entering your website.

You’ll find several online resources, like Google Analytics available to assist in your SEO efforts.  Yellow Assistance also offers Search Engine Optimization analysis and services for small business websites.

So, bring your website out of obscurity and into the search engine limelight, reaping the benefits of increased traffic and revenue.  Remember, market smarter - not harder, and be prosperous!

Marketing Mistake Number 2: Leaving it up to Amateurs

“I’d like to get my business online and get some nice fliers printed up, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it. I’d rather see where it goes and how effective the first run is, so I know this high school kid down the block who is pretty good with computers and I figure I’ll pay him $50 to…”

Hmmm…in this post, we’ll turn to a question of sanity. Let’s try the above (and sadly, not rare) statement again, in a different way:

“I’d like to get my books straight, so that I know where my company stands, but I don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. I’d rather see how much it’s worth to my company to have straight books, before I go through the rigmarole of hiring an accountant, so I know this high school kid down the block who is pretty good at math, and I figure I’ll pay him $50 to set up my books and keep track…”

What crazy person would think the above scenario is a good idea? And yet, that is exactly the approach most small-business owners take when it comes to entering the digital marketing scene. Sadly, most owners with this kind of mentality instantly get a bad taste in their mouth from the ineffective and oftentimes painful results of using a student or a family member who dabbles in technology. Why? Because it doesn’t work!

Just like leaving your bookkeeping up to a high schooler, the idea of presenting your potential customers with an online image that looks like it was made by a high schooler is the epitome of marketing foolishness. Primarily, it’s foolish because web savvy consumers see professional websites all the time and, either won’t take the time to look at a cheap site, or they will be so turned off by it that they will never return.

When you produce something that you intend to market your products and services with, you owe it to your business, products and services to present your potential customers with a marketing product that has the same quality that you expect them to see in your business. Lousy marketing insinuates lousy products and services. It’s not fair but it’s true. People identify quality and they draw a connection between polished, professional marketing and polished, professional goods and services.

If you can see the necessity for producing marketing that will help your company remain relevant in the digital age, you owe it to your company to do it right. Don’t rely on friends, families and neighbors to produce something so that you can save a buck or two. The dollars you save up front will translate into dollars you will lose in future business.

Do yourself a favor and treat your website presence like the investment it is. Get excited about offering quality features and personalized design elements to your online customers. Don’t begrudge the process. With the wrong approach to digital marketing, you will see little or no response in what may be the most important marketing investment your company will make this decade.

With the right approach to digital marketing, you will be able to see your profits grow right in front of your eyes.

Next, we’ll discuss the third biggest mistake businesses make marketing in the digital age: failing to optimize their websites for search engines. If you have suggestions for future blog posts, feel free to send them along to sam.bein@indevx.com.

Remember, market smarter - not harder, and be prosperous!

Marketing Mistake Number 1: NOT Having a Website

We get a lot of questions from clients about what they can do to better market their business in the digital age. We also spend a lot of time counseling small business owners on the importance of identifying the nature of the changing marketing landscape and adapting their business marketing strategies accordingly. This will be the first in a series of post designed to define the five biggest mistakes most small and medium-sized business make with their marketing in the digital age.

Today’s topic is the most simple, most basic, and the most understood principle among businesses now, thanks to the explosive growth of internet marketing in the past ten years.

YOUR COMPANY NEEDS A WEBSITE.

If your business isn’t represented by a website, it needs one immediately. The benefits of an online presence are obvious no matter what product or service your business offers. Branding, description, searchability, accessibility and ease of business transactions make a website the most effective marketing tool available for your business. And unlike print advertising, you don’t have to pay for it every time you want someone new to see it. Your company’s website is up and running, working for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With your own website, you can control your brand and company image. This works hand in hand with your company’s description. Consider how much space you have to really reach a potential customer with a print ad. Even if your company has the resources to design multiple ads and run variations in multiple publications at the same time, you can be sure that you won’t be disseminating as much information as you can spread with one page of a website. And the option to add more web pages is limitless. With a web presence, your company can add, update and change as much information as you like, as frequently as you desire.

And unlike most other forms of marketing, which reach a broad audience, the content on your website will be viewed by the most relevant and interested consumer, the one who has found your site intentionally.

The capabilities of the web have enlightened millions of people and continue to bring more and more businesses and customers into the digital marketplace. The number of people who go to the internet first to find the business or service they need continues to grow and the number of people who make their marketplace decision based on the print yellow pages continues to dwindle. The answer is clear. If you want a piece of the market in emerging consumers (18 to 35-year-olds) your company needs a website. Otherwise, prepare to get passed over in favor of companies who are relevant to the digital marketing age.

Many businesses are finding a digital storefront boosting their revenues as well, bringing in additional sales through online shopping carts. With a system of convenience and ease for your shoppers, and at zero additional overhead, many customers can browse products, set service appointments and even get estimates without leaving their home computer. From product searches to sales and delivery, many businesses are tapping into a brand new way of doing business, from their storefront to anywhere in the world. Isn’t that the kind of maximized accessibility you want to be able to offer your customers?

Some business owners say that they cannot justify the expense of starting up a website or that they rely on an established client base. The sad truth of the matter is that established client bases move, grow old, die or move on. Don’t you want your business to last longer than the established customers it currently enjoys? And what is the value, to your business, of a new customer? The return on your investment in a website will tell the story better than any other argument.

Not sure where to begin?  A great place to start is Sitendex.  They offer very affordable, professional websites that are easy for anyone to set up and maintain.

The next post will reveal the second most common marketing mistake that business owners make in the digital age: Leaving your marketing up to amateurs.

Remember, market smarter - not harder, and be prosperous!

Yellow Assistance CEO, James Ashford, was part of a panel of experts at the 2008 Directional Media Strategies Conference in Atlanta this week.  The discussion zeroed in on how internet yellow pages sites need to evolve to meet today’s consumer demands.

At issue was the industry’s tendency toward advertiser-driven needs, rather than a focus on ease of use and accuracy of information, which consumers want. A post in The Kelsey Group blog today put it this way, “One of the key areas consumers value in IYPs remains accuracy of data, but items like look and feel and the ability to add and share information have risen to the top.

This was good news to us, because user experience is what drives the development of YellowAssistance.com, through the use of engaging social networking tools, making it easy for people to connect with businesses and each other. Tools like Reviews, Click-N-Talk, Send to Mobile, and Tell a Friend enable users to become participants in the relationship.

During the panel discussion, Ashford summed it up, “The user experience is key, and how they want to use your site will dictate how best to design and set up your functionality. Ultimately the users will supply the appropriate content and how they want it served up; this will drive the traffic your advertisers need.”