Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
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Greg Sterling: Print Yellow Pages: What’s the Real Story?
Greg Sterling’s recent post: Print Yellow Pages: What’s the Real Story? is one of the best summaries of the issues and realities of the print Yellow Pages and their positioning vis-a-vis the internet yellow pages and local search.
I have fallen into the “detractor” camp for a number of years but have recognized that my personal point of view does not a trend make. Greg’s conclusion:
“It’s simply untrue to assert that all is well in print yellow pages land. But it’s also incorrect to call the medium dead……paradoxically, as consumer usage continues to migrate online the bulk of the revenues will remain offline for some time.”
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Comments
2 Comments
As posted on Sterling’s blog:
J Says:
March 9th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Firstly, the argument, as made by either side, presumes a constant rate of change or worse, all things remaining the same. (As if in digital the last great frontier has been crossed. Where was Google 10 years ago? Search? Local? Social? Video? Mobile?) Secondly, the argument–again–presumes a virtual and continuing disconnect between YP print usage and revenue. It is a fact that print YP usage is declining at a rate not yet reflected by either print YP revenue or margins. Thirdly, there is a presumption that SMEs will remain ever susceptible to the dedicated print YP sales forces’ questionable claims to retention, use, ROI, fear of loss etc. In fact, there may come a tipping point at which SMEs rebel against a systemic sense, on the part of their YP sales rep, of both complacency and disrespect and abandon print YP–incumbent and independent–en mass. Fourthly, one shouldn’t underestimate the “Gore†effect, where there is a consumer backlash against pillaging our forests to produce a product that has limited value and that few people use. Many more but limited by time and space.
J- great comments!
Life is not linear nor is change….and there is little that I have seen in way of documenting actual usage of traditional Yellow Pages by real people…I do know as a former retailer that I had stopped bending to the sway of the Yellow Pages many years ago and was annually cutting my usage in half and half again…
Thanks for taking the time to comment and I for one would love to hear your “Many more but limited by time and space” comments if you can find the time.
Mike
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