Why not Superpages.com Pay Per Click?

i believe they have a FREE $25.00 deal IIRC?

 

I recently signed up with Google and didn't remember reading about this. Where did you see this?

 

I don't think Google does that.

 

I see that offer for AdWords all the time. I will post a link next time I see it (although I had thought it was $25)

 

https://my.superpages.com/spweb/pageflows/entrypoint/landingpage/splash.jsp?splash=splash9

click here for that $25.00's FREE thing.

 

i changed the location my domain points to........ now it should take you to the 25.00 FREE clicks page.

http://www.ilovesuperpages.com

 

Yawwwwwwwn!

 

does anyone here actually operate a local service company... you know.. the type you would see in a "phone book"??

 

yup I own a small local ISP. I see this as a different universe then google etc. I do not seek business through google to advertise my ISP website or business on google although I do get some that way. The YP, well if you want local calls you got to be there period.

I guess if I was AOL I may be interested in some sort of PPC via verizon but I would hang up if some local rep called me and said hay we can get you business via this method. What a crock. But I do live in a small town. May be different if I did live in a large metro area and they could get me exposure and It converted. At least I could turn it on and off as needed. Buy a big a$$ phone book ad and it does not pull any better then that little ad you had last year (been there done that) and you are screwed for a whole year.

Just down sized all my YP ads for this year and no difference at all in sales. In fact I am ahead with local business calls. Maybe it is word of mouth?

###

 

You guys are being pretty hard on ILSP.

His topic and affiliation is clear. I don't think he's spamming. I was not aware that SP had a PPC offering which is good to know and I believe that he's not being paid to post.

He's just excited about his job and the company he works for. That kind of passion is commendable.

-jay

 

You had me until I read the fine print - Free $25 after you spend the first $25? Sorry, I'll stick with AdWords, which gave me $25 free and clear to try it out and see if it worked for us or not, no strings attached.

 

well if he did, i probably was his room mate cause I never heard of you either!

 

YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF VERIZON???

 

as a local YP rep...... I can really go into detail about your statement... of course it would mostly be defensive.... so i will hold my tongue. Word of mouth is great...... but the conception that a neighbor asks another neighbor next door is not usually the way it is done. it is more co-worker related. you know over the water cooler.

anyway. Repeat and referral is 80% of any business (with the exception of roofers etc.) two things exist in today's buying world... customers with a name and mind.. and those without... the YP helps connect both.... where other media doesnt.....

Take my words.... Spend wisely. It sounds like you did the second time around.

by the way..... IMHO Verizon Superpages PPC is > Print........ in terms of ROI!

 

No offense verizon man.

I guess I am in the same boat as lots of small biz owners. I don't really know what the heck I'm doing when it come to advertising. Tried radio, tv, handing out flyers etc nothing has came close to the YP. But my local rep did not suggest I spend wisely on small to medium ads. He said I needed the largest ad at the top 1st position. I listened to him. Now you tell me I did not spend wisely. Who can I trust to guide me?

I guess my local rep is not as knowledgeable (or ethical) as you, or, you are grandstanding here and want to be seen as ethical.

Do you really suggest to your local accounts that they "spend wisely" or do you tell them as I was told that they need the "whole top of the 1st page" in their category?

What ever the case may be, bottom line is the verizon YP does work for me but I had to figure out on my own what spending wisely was. But don't blame me for being slightly inflamed about being mis-informed by my local rep and then on the hook for 12 months of high cost that for me did not "convert" as it was supposed to.

One thing about ad reps. I never heard one who did not talk "blue sky". Then after you are sold and things do not convert, well, excuses abound (everything is said from "it is George Bush's fault" to it is my business's category etc but never ever did I hear any of them say "well, maybe we over sold you and you really did not need this large ad in this market") but one thing was for damn sure, the cash was still converting out of "my" wallet for 12 months.

###

 

Mike ******
Advertising Consultant -
Verizon Yellow Pages & Superpages.com
***-***-****Cell

Steve James - "To satisfy our customers' needs, we'll give them what they want, not what we want to give them. "

Zig Ziglar - "Stop selling. Start helping."

 

CONTINUITY: Plays a big role in what your rep will recommend. I have been with Verizon 5 years...... ethics is how I have lasted 5 years. My clients believe what I say because I use fact (not opinion) and honesty.

Thankfully we now have consistant continuity at the nations largest YP publisher ---- Verizon!

Every business has a different climate. Some want volume... others want value customers. The better your rep understands your business needs and situation the better the solutions. I think of YP's as legal theft... you can legally steal business from your competitors with an ad... whether it is at the front or the back! Yet placement does play a role. Keep in mind most consumers see approx 5 ads and call 2.8-3.2 of them.

 

Around 20% of "clicks"/traffic is done by crawlers... are you saying that you're generating 100% return, or have you already caclulated this into your equation? Even @ 80%... I would consider that an amazing ROI, but it's gonna take a whole slough of stats to convince me that PPC is a better investment than organic SR. How are you generating your statistics?

 

Where does that statistic come from?

 

WHAT I was saying is compared to search engines people go to superpages.com to buy... where as SE's is typically generating alot of research and non-ready buyers.... those are facts. Neilsen, Kelsey Group, SRO, and various other reputable sources. Consider the research done that shows the percent of sales vs searches on superpages.com vs search engines. 87% vs 27% IIRC? Print is the same as .com! Within 5-10%

by the way.... these are searches by unique IP address..... not crawlers etc... survey research etc.....