Global Yellow Pages Blog
Following on its announcement yesterday that it had acquired the U.S.-based e-commerce firm Znode, Yell Group has unveiled a new alliance with Microsoft to sell the software giant's cloud-based services to its U.K. customers. The services Yell will offer will…
AT&T Interactive announced this week the launch of in-app ads on its mobile ad network, an extension of YP Local Ad Network. In-app local ads are served within mobile apps based on a user's location. Earlier this year, AT&T Interactive piloted…
A federal judge upheld Seattle's opt-out registry this week for residents who choose not to receive Yellow Pages. U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart said the city's opt-out ordinance does not violate the Yellow Pages publishers' First Amendment rights.…
Local Matter has named a new CEO, Tom Higley, who takes the helm at the local search software company following a months-long search. Higley has a deep background in starting up technology companies. According to his LinkedIn profile, Higley was most…
Dex One announced today that it has signed an agreement with Google to serve as a Google AdWords "Certified Partner." Dex One is making this deal a pillar of its announced goal of reaching 30 percent of revenues from digital…
Yellow Pages has yielded the top spot for local business lookups to search engines like Google and Bing, but it still holds a significant spot in the local search hierarchy, according to new data released today by the Local Search Association.
The latest “Local Media Tracking Study” shows that search engines rank higher than Yellow Pages (print and digital combined) in monthly reach (67 percent vs. 62 percent), while combined Yellow Pages still has the edge over search in annual reach (84 percent vs. 76 percent). Print Yellow Pages alone, however, has fallen behind search in both annual (78 percent to 74 percent) and monthly (67 percent to 49 percent) reach.
LSA President Neg Norton said in a briefing last week that the study reflects the new direction of the association, which earlier this year changed its name from the Yellow Pages Association.
“This is an example of how the association is changing,” he said. “This is not a Yellow Pages study. It is a more holistic look at the local landscape.”
The Local Search Association filed suit today against the City and County of San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors, and Mayor Edwin Lee asking the U.S. District Court to overturn the city's recently passed opt-in ordinance. The suit claims that the…
Yellowbook announced the launch of its new Android tablet app today. The new app features map-based business listing results. This feature allows users to find a business by searching the business name, popular categories, nearby businesses or by browsing their…
Sensis, in association with the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), commissioned research into how Australian people and businesses are using social media. The Sensis Social Media Report contains survey results from 803 Australian consumers and 1,944 businesses. Sweeney Research…
We just learned that San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has signed into law the San Francisco opt-in ordinance. Lee's signature was anticipated since the ordinance passed the city's Board of Supervisors by an overwhelming margin. The Yellow Pages industry has…
Reply has acquired MerchantCircle for $60 million in cash and stock in a deal that makes a big bet on SMB, vertical and social marketing. The deal, which should be completed in Q3, brings MerchantCircle’s list of 1.6 million SMBs…
Representatives and their legal counsel from the Association of Directory Publishers, Valley Yellow Pages, At&t, and the Local Search Association held a conference call to plan their continued opposition to San Francisco's opt-in ordinance. If more articles like this from…
Yell Group announced its full-year 2011 results this week (its year ends March 31), with digital media revenues growing by 9.4 percent from last year. CEO Mike Pocock projected during the full-year earnings call that by 2015, 75 percent of Yell's…
There are some occasions when you need to hire someone right away. At least that’s the hypothesis of Ginjex: The availability engine,” a new ad-supported U.K. directory that focuses on real-time hiring. Launched by Mark Riley, a former exec with…
Last week, we reported on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors vote to pass an opt-in ordinance for print directories. The law would go into effect next year. This week, San Francisco businesses and publishers opposing opt-in will ask Mayor…
2010 was a dismal year for the New Zealand branch of Deutsche Bank after exposure to the Yellow Pages Group restructuring. The KPMG Financial Institutions Performance Survey issued last week shows that Deutsche ranked at the bottom out of 10…
The EADP conference in Mallorca was treated to the insights and good humor of Yellow Pages Group Canada's Matthieu Houle and the company's very funny ad campaign. Mobile, Houle said, gives directories the appeal local advertisers are looking for. His…
Earlier this week, we reported that the Yellow Pages industry suffered a setback as a Seattle District Court judge denied a request for an injunction against Seattle's opt-out ordinance. Yellow Pages publishers responded today by filing a notice of appeal.…
The opening session of the European Association of Directory Publishers (EADP) conference in Mallorca, Spain was designed to open people's minds about how mobile and social can and should be used to the advantage of directory companies. Jullien Billot of…
Yesterday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the opt-in ordinance that the Yellow Pages industry had vigorously opposed. Immediately following the vote, the Local Search Association (formerly the Yellow Pages Association) called on San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee to veto the ordinance. The ordinance passed 10-1 but formal passage must wait until a routine “second reading” next week, which is likely to be a rubber stamp.
The ordinance is the first opt-in (where consumers must proactively choose to receive a print directory) measure to pass in the United States. While the industry sees opt-out (where consumers can choose not to receive a book) as a serious challenge, it has viewed opt-in as a lethal threat. Opt-in could decimate reach, increase costs and drive secondary operators out of business.
Proponents argue that in an era of declining usage, ubiquitous distribution is incredibly wasteful. if someone wants a book, no one is stopping him or her from requesting one under an opt-in plan.
The San Francisco ordinance is positioned as a “three-year pilot program” that will commence in 2012. The ordinance was proposed based on environmental concerns as well as concerns over the cost of disposing of unwanted phone books.
