Local Services SMBs Rely Heavily on Yellow Page Advertising

A recent survey found that Yellow Page advertising ranks in the top 5 most popular channels for home and trade service companies

BIA/Kelsey’s 2015 Local Commerce Monitor survey reported that home and trade services SMBs heavily use Yellow Pages in their ad mix. In fact, their most popular channels to use are from traditional media: newspapers, print yellow pages and direct mail.

The report goes on to says that:

Print yellow pages also had the highest return on investment (ROI) of the top three traditional media — with nearly 28% saying that their ROI on print yellow pages was either excellent (10-19x) or extraordinary (over 20x) spend.

ROI of a Typical Yellow Page Advertising

The average display ad generates 150 calls a year¹ and 40 percent of consumers who contact a business in the Yellow Pages make a purchase.² That represents 60 sales.

But let’s imagine an ad that performed half as well and only generated 30 sales in a year. Based on average costs of home and trade services, here’s the revenue that would produce:

1 LSA Local Media Tracking Study 2014, March 2015
2 CRM Associates Metered Ad Study

These survey results refute media analysts who claim Yellow Pages is no longer relevant for local small business advertising. Even Google spokesman Matt Cutts recommends a well-rounded portfolio of ways to get leads that includes Yellow Pages. We heartily agree.