The Advantages of Online Business Directories
Business directories like the Yellow Pages have been around for many years, and for most of that time were the quickest and easiest way to find a specific business, product or service in your local area. However, old-fashioned print directories have some disadvantages when compared with online business directories:
1. People are using the Internet more and more to find local businesses to deal with. The Internet has an immediacy which cannot be matched by a print directory listing. You can not only find dozens of businesses online, but also comments, reviews and comparisons.
2. Most printed business directories are only updated once a year. This means that a directory listing may be out of date by the time a consumer tries to contact a business. As a business owner, it makes the listing useless for advertising short-term or seasonal specials. With an online directory listing, the business owner can edit their listing at any time.
3. Print directory listings are not cheap. The cost of production of a print directory makes it necessary to charge fairly high prices for business listings. This may put a listing out of reach of a small or start-up business. Many business don’t even track the response rate they get from their business directory listing, so they don’t know what each lead is actually costing them. Website visitor tracking is relatively easy to implement, and can give you a good idea of the effectiveness of your marketing.
4. The environmental impact of producing print directories is huge. Over 5 million trees are cut down each year in the USA to produce phone books. As the cost of water and wood pulp increases, you can expect that print directories will become less and less attractive. Many directories are not even used, but simply dumped in the trash.
5. Online business directories are getting better and better. Local directories allow you easily to search for businesses in your local area, and provide photographs, maps and even videos to tell you more about the businesses you find.
