Internet Yellow Pages Revenue Grows

The Yellow Pages Association, valued at more than $31 billion worldwide, is doing better than ever in the internet age. While print-edition readership remains stable, Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) have been gaining revenue, says a recent ComScore report produced for the Yellow Pages Association (YPA), according to emarketer.com.

US online Yellow Pages revenue has nearly quadrupled since 2002, from $313 million to a projected $1200 million in 2008. IYP searches increased 15 percent in 2007 to 3.8 billion, up from 2006’s 3.3 billion IYP searches.

89% of Yellow Page users are in the 25 to 64 demographic; 63% are female. Consumers used Internet Yellow Pages 3.8 billion times last year, compared to the 13.4 billion times they used the print edition last year.

IYPs perform strongest in local advertising, no surprise as the online model’s usage mirrors that of the traditional big yellow book. “Of all local media companies, yellow pages publishers have been the most successful in moving toward digital sales, averaging about 14 percent of their gross revenues from online sales this year,” says a report from advertising research and consulting firm Borrell Associates.

IYP’s are among the top revenue-generators for local advertising, important for small-business owners. 38% of local online ad revenue is generated by Internet Yellow Pages.

The relationship Yellow Pages has with its customers is important for advertisers, as Yellow Page Customers are generally ready-to-buy, looking for an outlet that sells a particular good. “They’re not browsing. They’re ready to buy. Roughly 86 percent of the people that turn to the print product either make a purchase or will make one within a week,” says the Yellow Page Association’s Stephanie Hobbs.

Borrell predicts that online Yellow Pages will soon overshadow their print brethren, estimating that in the next five years, “39 percent of the ad spending on print yellow pages revenues will vanish as small businesses shift marketing budgets online. After 12 years as an advertising medium, the Internet has finally reached small-business owners with viable marketing opportunities”

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