Don't Waste Money on Yellow Pages ~ Sedona Marketing Magic

Attention Local Business Owners:
Think Of A Web Site As A Super-Yellow Pages Ad
This "ad" delivers 100 times the results... at 1/10 of the price. People are searching less and less by the offline and more by the online ...
If your small, local business does not use a Net presence to promote itself, keep in touch with its customers, extend its reach, and take your competitors' customers, your competitors will do it to you, and soon.
Yellow Pages are No Competition for SBI
Indeed... how could a 4" x 2" Yellow Pages ad (let alone an invisible line-listing) compete with a SBI!-built Web site? Compare...
Yellow Pages Ad SBI!-Built Web Site
Content There's very little you can say about your business in a tiny little rectangle. And don't even try to update your content during the year! Show off your local business to its best advantage. No size, color, or media limitations.Update anytime -- make special offers, let visitors know about new products or services, etc.
Visitor attention Near zero -- eyes scanning listings Total -- once your prospective customer is on your site, you have 100% of his/her attention.
Visitor mindset Dubious, suspicious -- Yellow Pages is advertising. We've all had experiences with services that were downright dismal. Zero credibility. Interested, open-to-buy, PREsold -- they found you through Google, feel smart, and read your excellent content, becoming PREsold upon you as an expert who shares. A Web site that provides as much business information as your prospect needs, along with friendly/useful content, allows the prospective client to know and trust you. High credibility.
Exposure, traffic Near-zero -- it may generate a few calls per week (per month)? Substantial -- attract hundreds, even thousands, of targeted visitors per day, on an ongoing, ever-building basis. And, if you do it right (and you will), they will return to your site. Your e-zine also gives you the opportunity to reach your customers on a repeat basis.
Measurable No -- do you have any idea how many exposures you get, or how many people call or visit due to your ad? How can you measure ROI (Return on Investment)? Yes -- you will know exactly how many visitors arrive, every day, every hour... and you will know everything about them. You know the Lifetime Value of a new customer (i.e., the amount of profit that a new customer will bring to your business over his/her lifetime of dealing with you). It makes it so easy to compare that against the cost of an SBI! Web site.
Build customer loyalty N/A -- not applicable Your own e-zine -- develop an increasing sense of loyalty with existing customers, as well as repeat business. You can reach them, free, whenever you want to.
Competitive advantage Low -- everyone takes a Yellow Pages ad. That's why you did. Who gets the attention? The companies with the expensive BIG ads. EVERYWHERE. High -- your Web site, properly done, can both build new local business and pull your competition's customers to you.
New revenue streams No -- Yellow Pages just advertises that you have a business. Yes -- an SBI! site builds content, which builds targeted visitors and establishes you as an authority in your field. This establishes the potential for multiple streams of income that can even surpass total income from your current local business. More on this below.
Open new markets No -- Yellow Pages is a local medium. Yes -- the Net is a global medium. More and more, it will replace large paper-bound directories as the way to find local businesses with local clientele. But obviously, it also opens up global potential. More on this below.
Expandable search -- geography No -- Yellow Pages is a local directory. And it's totally non-interactive. Users either find you... or not. If you did not buy a listing for a particular locale, they won't. Yes -- suppose the local curling club is looking for a bag-piper in its local town. None? Look in the adjacent town(s). Still none? Look in the nearest mid-size city. Ah... There you are. Better still, SBI! shows you how to get found for that first town... even if your office is not located there.
Expandable search -- keywords No -- you buy a listing for a single category. If a user searches in a different-but-related category, s/he won't find you. For example, you sell and service sprinkler systems in your town? Your prospect is looking up "landscapers" -- s/he calls the landscaper who recommends a competitor. Yes -- your prospect searches for"+landscapers +your-town" and finds you (because you created some content about landscaping), is PREsold by your site's excellent information, and calls YOU.
Cost Expensive -- hundreds of dollars per year, per listing, per geographic area, per category, foreach 4" x 2". Inexpensive -- an SBI! site costs less than a single 4" x 2" Yellow Pages ad, no limit on keywords (i.e., how prospects find you), geography, size, etc. No complicated packages, just one single yearly fee.

The Days Of Tree-Sucking Yellow Pages Are Numbered
Increasing numbers of searching pre-customers use the Net to find local businesses. More and more small local businesses are using the Net. A self-feeding trend is hitting critical mass.
IMPORTANT:
All major Search Engines consider local online search of paramount importance. Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines recognize that more and more surfers search for local purposes.
To the left, you see an example of a search for pizzas in San Francisco. Your business must be the one that is found when someone searches for something related to your business in your region.

The rapid growth and importance of the Search Engines for local search will accelerate the demise of the 20-pound paper-bound directory of businesses.
Convert Knowledge into Information by Publishing It On the Web Then Convert that Content Into Targeted Traffic and Income
Most local small businesses, if they build a site at all, build it about themselves. "About Us"... The president and key personnel. The history... how long they've been in business. Awards they've won. The product line. Charming photos... "Here's me and the gang by the doo-hickey machine."
Fatal.
Yes, it is important to show and explain your business to its best advantage. But it's more important to build content (i.e., information) about the niche that your business fills. Why?
Because (and this is important)...
People search for information, for solutions... they do not search forYOU. If they knew you existed, they would not be searching. They would already be customers.
You want a site that will be searched-and-found by prospective new customers... hundreds of them... then thousands, steadily building as your site gains in reputation and relevance at the engines (especially now that they are putting special emphasis on local search). So...

Net Result? A Site That WORKS
Is Like Having 1,000 Yellow Pages Ads
Building Your Local Small Business

Attention Local Business Owners:

Think Of A Web Site As A Super-Yellow Pages Ad

Yellow Pages are No Competition for SBI

The Days Of Tree-Sucking Yellow Pages Are Numbered

Convert Knowledge into Information by Publishing It On the Web Then Convert that Content Into Targeted Traffic and Income

Net Result? A Site That WORKS
Is Like Having 1,000 Yellow Pages Ads
Building Your Local Small Business

Case Studies: Local Businesses/Professions

Dr. John Burch DDS - DrBurch.com

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