Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

Avocet · #11 (**permalink**) 10-25-2008

I was looking at the Yell.com advertising website yesterday. The cost of having a listing with a link to my website began at £250.00 per year and they expected you to pay for this up front!

They were also advertising a "pay per click" service. I've not come across this concept before. Has anyone else used it and if so do you think it was worth it?

Today I put my first advertising poster up in my local newsagents so I guess I can now say I've officially launched my Business!!!

Avocet

ladygrn · #12 (**permalink**) 10-25-2008

I have wondered, too, about yellowpage advertising so I was glad to see your question.
Glad to see the feedback, too. Don't have to spend anymore time wondering about that question!!!

Thank you all.

Gladys

StarLeaf · #13 (**permalink**) 10-25-2008

Pay per click advertising is something I've heard a lot about but never tried. I think Google offers a program like that. You basically choose how much you want to pay for a click-through ad to your site, and however many people click on that ad and go to your site, that determines how much you pay. I've not tried it, but it sounds like reasonably safe advertising. At least you'd KNOW you're getting traffic from it.

mkimble · #14 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008

Thanks for the info I just may do that myself...

661VA · #15 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009

I have services with Yellow Pages and have yet to get even one hit to my website or one phone call. I pay $166 a month and it is a rip-off.

iAssist Virtual Solutions · #16 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009

I have no experience with this scenario, however $295 per month seems extremely high. I'd research an alternative method of listing your phone number.

jrlavalley · #17 (**permalink**) 06-15-2009

That sounds like the guy that found my website that I built saying "it looks great" but I can make it better and I won't charge anything but I can get you more exposure for only $95.00 a month. If he could see it, I think anyone else can to. As far as you are concerned, maybe check the Google AdWords, you can advertise with them having keywords and when someone googles any of your keywords, your site would come up as a paid ad. You can determine how much you want to spend a month. The only thing is, the less you decide to spend per month, the less frequent your site will show up. But you only pay per click when people go into your site. I tried it for a month and got quite a bit of clicks on another site. (No I don't get a commission from google for sharing) Check it out...it's called google adwords.

TipTop Virtual Solutions · #18 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009

Why would you pay for a yellowpages.com ad when you can post one for free. Go to www.yellowpages.com Click at the bottom where it says place a free listing. Now it takes a few days but it's there. If you've ever applied for a cell phone in your business name they instruct you to place a free ad with yellowpages.com. because it's the same as placing a paid ad.

I use to do in-home childcare and I got so much business from placing my info on google and yellowpages.com

Absolutely NOT do't pay one red cent to place your listing.

Marian · #19 (**permalink**) 11-24-2009

Yeah, avoid yellow pages - online and in print unless it's a freebie ad. First off, few people even use them anymore. Those that do, quite likely, aren't going to be your target client anyway. It's expensive, and their sales people are slick. You will pay far more out than you ever get in.

One of my clients was spending over $1,800 a month in print and online yellow page advertising (it's a big city with multiple directories and areas, so it's more expensive). She never pulled in that much to cover it. We canceled them all, despite her rep practically threatening her, telling her that her business would close if she did it, citing all of these statistics. It was nauseating.

A year later? Not a single drop in business, and she has more disposable income to devote elsewhere.

Yellow pages are dying off because of technology, and it's just getting more expensive. I know that I haven't had a phone book in over 10 years... I go to the Internet first and search that way.

Maintaining a good local business listing on Google is one really effective, and free, way of getting business. The majority of my notary calls come from people who Google for a notary.

katekindred · #20 (**permalink**) 11-24-2009

I have tried various paid yellow pages online, but most also have a free listing. I dropped the paid listings this year and went with the freebie. The only dif is your profile is not as "robust". But new client-wise, I haven't lost a thing. My biz is way way up over last year. I think mainly the paid listing is a boon for the person selling it to you.