This week I was asked by one of our (prospective) clients for assistance in building a business case to shift ad dollars from the Yellow Pages to Google and the also rans (aka Yahoo and MSN). After putting the word out that a $10 Starbucks gift card awaited the first Spur employee to find some good data, I put the question out on LinkedIn Answers (often a great venue for connecting with gurus who can answer tough questions).
I realize I’m a bit spoiled by the immediate gratification I often find online; so after 15 minutes passed without a single no LinkedIn answer, I decided to do some research myself. What I found should be of interest to all marketers who rely on Yellow Pages for local advertising.
According to Search Engine Watch: This year, local advertisers are expected to shift $13.1 billion of their budgeted funds to the Internet, according to Borrell Associates. The number is up 50% over last year. In 2009, local online ad spending is projected to grow another 40% to $18.2 billion in 2009″… “Online advertising is cheaper than traditional methods of marketing and is thought to be the reason for the change. According to Borrell, internet CPMs average $3.65, the lowest of any media, while an offline Yellow Pages ad carries an average CPM of $9.29.”
My take: In addition to lower CPMs, search is much more targeted, actionable and measurable. And it’s increasingly becoming a preferred way to find local vendors quickly and easily by people of all ages.
I also found some interesting info at RBR.com that compared the fate of Yellow Pages to that of newspapers in recent years: “…the recession is forcing small-business advertisers to be more careful with their ad budgets. Over the next five years, Borrell is predicting 39% of the ad spending on print yellow pages revenues will vanish as small businesses shift marketing budgets online… The key drivers of these changes are broadband penetration and the growing sophistication of search engines and interactive directories. Between 2005 and 2007, 10.4 million adults stopped using the yellow pages “during the past month.” Assuming Borrell knows what they are talking about, those are some compelling stats!