Let's get one thing clear - advertising has changed radically over the last decade - there simply is no denying that fact. And with change comes the inevitable rise of some upstarts who capitalize on a trend, and the unavoidable decline and fall of industry giants who are not too big to fail, but are too big to nimbly adapt.
Alas, the days of The Yellow Pages are over, and as the aging giants have tried to adapt with "directory websites" like YP.com, DEXKnows.com, and YellowPages.com, they have begun to grasp at straws, prolonging their imminent implosion into the realm of irrelevance.
DXM Stock (i.e. DEXKnows.com) Has Dropped from /share to about $.22/share in 2 years
But as they grasp at straws, they take small businesses with them, promising them they're "just as good" as the other "web directories" like that Google the kids keep on about. But of course, they don't. They simply can't.
But there's still the phone book, right? Well, sure. And for the 65+ demographic group, that's a good way to reach many of them still. Think I'm being overly critical or hyperbolic? Check out the ads on the cover of the YP phone book that came JUST TODAY in the mail:
Walk-in Tubs? Check. Stairlifts? Check. Social Security attorney? Check. All that's missing is Wilford Brimley pitching a cure for diabetus.
Sure, it may still be slightly more relevant in larger cities, but that relevance is dwindling fast.
What really annoys the heck out of me, however, is how these large companies exploit small mom and pop businesses who don't have a lot of advertising savvy. They don't know their SEO from their PPC and so when a company like YP.com speaks of "organic listings" [on YP.com only, mind you], they think that that's just how the game is played. They don't know that YP is renting them a site (that's usually ugly), a number, and even some terrible videos that all point back to YP's properties, not to the business owners' own sites.
All of this combines to one big, dumb dinosaur of a company that's trying desperately to keep what few customers it has and failing miserably both at serving those customers well, and at preserving their own hides.
And so I've set about to overthrow YP and DEX, by helping one custom at a time realize that they're wasting their money.
The simple answer is: too much!
According to Google, about 40 business owners every month search for "YP advertising solutions reviews," and this is what they are greeted with:
That's a lot of complaints, and an outdated SEL post from 2012.
If you're currently advertising with YP.com, DEX, or some other lumbering giant which is seeking to remain alive by drinking the marrow from your business' bones, and you're happy with that, good for you, and good luck.
But if you're tired of wasting your money, and want to advertise in a way that actually builds your business a long-term asset (like your own website, ranked in Google), then fill out our discovery form, and let's talk.
