When in search of local products and services, consumers are relying on Internet searches at an increasing rate. As a result, business owners know the importance of maximizing the scope of their online presence. Listing your business on as many local directories as possible is incredibly time consuming, and it’s hard to figure out which ones to prioritize. Google, Facebook, Yelp, Yahoo Local and Mapquest are definitely at the top of the list, but what about YP.com?
Formerly YellowPages.com, YP.com is an online yellow pages directory that is supported by paid advertising. Basic local business listings are free, and they’re fairly easy and painless to set up. Jointly owned by Cerberus Capital and AT&T, the company purports to reach more than 90% of monthly Internet users through its YP Local Ad Network, with between 40% and 50% of network searches being mobile.
Allison Checchi, YP.com’s newly appointed CMO, believes that the company can and will be able to compete directly with Google and Yelp in the very near future. YP.com employs 4,000 sales and accounts representatives to service and retain nearly 575,000 paid advertisers. By focusing on personalization, depth of content and multi-platform experiences, Checchi plans to leverage the company’s new MyBook app to help businesses connect more deeply with their customers.
Setting Up and Managing a YP.com Account
Getting started with YP.com is free and only takes a few minutes. Simply go to the new accounts page and follow the directions. A basic listing allows you to provide all of your business information, hours of operation, methods of payment and a link to your business website. This listing will pop up whenever a customer searches business categories in your neighborhood.
The site also allows customers to rate and review your business, so you should pay close attention to any comments being made, and respond to them positively. This lets customers know there is a live person at the other end of the listing who is interested in their feedback.
As with everywhere else on the net, keywords should be used judiciously to help optimize your listing. Also, be sure to select as many relevant business categories as possible. Finally, consider using YP.com’s free coupon tool to create a coupon for your business.
Is YP.com the Right Platform for Your Business?
While it may not be the very first directory that pops into mind when considering local listings, YP.com is definitely a contender poised to claim more market share in the future. Its mobile functionality makes it popular with the younger crowd, while its connection to the original bound yellow page directories makes it familiar to older generations. By optimizing your online yellow pages presence along with the other big search engines and social media sites, you make sure you can get found.