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Online Advertising in Your Own Backyard
January 2003
Have you thought about localized online advertising for your business? You can reach your local market in many ways -- through online yellow pages, city guide listings, and classified ads in the websites of local newspapers. These are some of the most affordable online advertising opportunities available today. Read on to find out more about them.
ONLINE YELLOW PAGES
Listings in the online or Internet yellow pages (IYPs) are a boon to small and mid-sized businesses with physical locations. Here's why:
1. They're a fraction of the cost of a listing in the printed yellow pages.
2. They can be dynamically searched by Internet users in a number of ways, including city, state, zip or postal code, business type, and
keyword.
3. They can include not only your business name and contact information but also a live link to your e-mail address and/or website, your logo, and your company tagline or slogan.
Expect to spend anywhere from $10 a month for a basic listing to $100 per month for a premium listing that ranks at the top of a search results and includes enhanced features such as additional copy about your business.
Added benefits: Some IYPs license their listings database to other sites. In the U.S., for example, Verizon's SuperPages.com powers the online yellow pages on MSN.com, AltaVista, and Lycos. With SuperPages.com, you pay for one listing but appear in the yellow pages of several other websites. That's a lot of bang for your buck.
Finally, many IYPs let you edit your listing during your subscription period - an invaluable feature if you move your office or change your telephone number.
CITY GUIDES
City guides, which feature up-to-date information on restaurants, hotels, museums, and other attractions in major cities around the world, also offer business listings in dozens of categories.
To find good city-guide listing opportunities, search for "city guides" or the name of your city plus "city guide" on your favorite search engine and go from there. You'll find CitySearch.com at the top of nearly every results list. CitySearch.com listings give great value for the money. For a mere $24 per month (at time of writing), U.S. businesses can purchase a listing that includes their logo, tagline, and links to their e-mail and website. The listing is searchable not only by category but also by 10 custom keywords that you can designate yourself. CitySearch.com even offers a discount if you prepay for one year.
Other online city guides: RealCities.com, a national U.S. network of regional websites; OfficialCitySites.org (North America, Asia/Pacific, Europe); and DigitalCity.com.
CLASSIFIEDS
Many newspapers now have online components that include classified ads along with current information about weather and traffic. Their currency
makes them attractive to Internet users, who are also likely to search the online classifieds looking for local products and services. (To find your local papers, search on Google with search terms like "London newspapers," "New Jersey newspapers," etc.)
Online classifieds are an affordable short-term marketing solution. Rates are usually charged by the line ($10-20 per line), the same as print classifieds, with a 3-4-line minimum. The ads are usually searchable by keyword and category and run for 7-21 days, sometimes longer. Some online newspapers enable you to purchase the ad and submit your copy online.
Tip: Before you begin the purchase process, make a note of the copy limitations, draft your copy offline, and show it to colleagues or coworkers first. Some newspapers make it difficult to change online ads once the copy has been submitted.
IN CONCLUSION: LOCAL USAGE STATS
Nearly 87% of all Internet users access local-oriented information, and Internet users in general access the online yellow pages 3 times per month.
Don't ignore your localized online advertising opportunities -- a substantial customer base might be waiting right in your own backyard!
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