Yell.com paid for listings

[Andy78]

I have been approached by Yell.com to ask if I would like my free listing turning into a paid-for enhanced listing. Does anyone have any experience with this as I am uncertain whether it would be worth it or not in terms of increased call generation.

The deal is this. In my area a search for electricians on Yell.com brings up over 150 results. They are asking £45/month for a minimum of one year to have a guaranteed place on the first page of their results. They reckon by looking at similar sparks in my area that have paid for this service, I could expect around an extra 60 calls a year. If I got that and I could turn half of them into jobs it would probably be worth it. A couple of lines in the local rag is about £30/week so it's not too badly priced either.

Anyone used this method with Yell before ?
Any views on this appreciated.

 

[oldtimer]

Go on line and register for their free listing I did plus they started to call me every other week but I told them I could not afford it and they would be better leaving me alone and they did.

I register for all the free stuff but for me its not economical to pay out for this type of thing

 

[bigbaddave]

I would not advice a paid listing as this only changes things in the yell.com directory.. However to be fair these days i find if i get a call from them its all from Yell.com and on there we can add pictures and make listing atractive.. At £30 a week maybe a punt but I wouldnt be trying.

Howeve mabe nice to hear from somone who has a paid listing and let them tell us if there revenue has increased.

 

[Andy78]

I would not advice a paid listing as this only changes things in the yell.com directory.. However to be fair these days i find if i get a call from them its all from Yell.com and on there we can add pictures and make listing atractive.. At £30 a week maybe a punt but I wouldnt be trying.

Howeve mabe nice to hear from somone who has a paid listing and let them tell us if there revenue has increased.

It does only change my position in the Yell listing, but the Yell directory does appear of the first page of a google search. That's what I'm after really, someone who has tried this service and can give some feedback on it.

 

[bigbaddave]

It does only change my position in the Yell listing, but the Yell directory does appear of the first page of a google search. That's what I'm after really, someone who has tried this service and can give some feedback on it.

I see, I was unaware of this to be fair. I only assumed that the only changes were on book and site.. But getting your name at the top page of google is quite an attractive thing..

 

[Andy78]

I see, I was unaware of this to be fair. I only assumed that the only changes were on book and site.. But getting your name at the top page of google is quite an attractive thing..

Well, not quite my name at the top of a google search. Yell.com's link appear on the first page of a google search if someone searches for an electrician in a particular area. Then if someone clicks the Yell.com link, I would be paying to appear on the first page of the Yell.com listings for my area. Say, in the first 20 from 150 listings.

 

[Octopus]

Somehow my details got into the free Yel site and I only found this out when a caller stated they had found me on Yell!

I then found the "basic" details and have now made the free listing much more comprehensive - whether it will lead to any work is anyones guess!!

 

[Andy78]

Somehow my details got into the free Yel site and I only found this out when a caller stated they had found me on Yell!

I then found the "basic" details and have now made the free listing much more comprehensive - whether it will lead to any work is anyones guess!!

Apparently making your free listing more complete doesn't shove it up the rankings like it does on freeindex, but it might make it more likely to get chosen as it looks better and gives a better description of your services.
I have had a few calls from my free listing in it's first month. I am always on the fourth page though, so they must have been searching via postcode.

 

[Octopus]

Apparently making your free listing more complete doesn't shove it up the rankings like it does on freeindex, but it might make it more likely to get chosen as it looks better and gives a better description of your services.
I have had a few calls from my free listing in it's first month. I am always on the fourth page though, so they must have been searching via postcode.

To be honest I'm not that bothered where I am on the listings. From talking to my smaller clients all they want is a local, reliable spark!

 

[Andy78]

The same here really, reputation counts for everything. In fact local reliable electrician are the main words on my flyers lol. It's just that in the listings in my town I seem to be getting lost in heaps of firms, and not many people look past the first page of results.

 

[CSP2012]

Hi Andy.
I wouldn't bother. I have had 3 calls... Won 2 and the other was a builder who got me to price and just wanted me to tell him what to chop so his mate could wire it and me sign it off.... But anyway! I pay to be number 1 if someone puts in 'domestic electrician'...

 

[Chris-Davies]

From past experiences with yell and their rude monkeys, stay well away from them!
The future of listings is in the search engines, not search directories, money is defo better spent elsewhere!

 

[Andy78]

Cheers guys. I have pretty much decided not to do it. Seems too much money upfront for nothing guaranteed. If they were that confident the service worked, they would offer me a free trial.

 

[Chris-Davies]

Yes thats exactly what i said to them, if you can give me a free trial and i could see the results, i would almost definitely advertise them with them if it was a good return on investment, the monkey literally laughed at me!
I find them too pushy in getting you to pay for results, the guy also said that this is the real world, you get nothing for free! i said "so my free listing is not free then"?
He was pretty speechless

 

[Andy78]

Yes thats exactly what i said to them, if you can give me a free trial and i could see the results, i would almost definitely advertise them with them if it was a good return on investment, the monkey literally laughed at me!
I find them too pushy in getting you to pay for results, the guy also said that this is the real world, you get nothing for free! i said "so my free listing is not free then"?
He was pretty speechless

To be fair, the salesman that has been dealing with me has not been pushy at all, just detailed what they are offering and really tried to sell it on it's benefits. He has stopped short of offering me any guarantees and said that they cannot guarantee any extra work for me, but would be surprised if it didn't work for me.
I suppose I will find out how pushy he is when he rings back and I decline.

 

[SJD]

Much of last year I used to get pushy calls from Yell pretty much every month, and every time I'd decline, then the next month someone else called, usually with some story like "just taken over in my area", and go through the same old sales pitch. After quite a few of these, I got so fed up that as soon as they called, I said I've no interest in spending any money, now the calls have stopped, I must be marked down as not worth pestering.

 

[Jay Sparks]

I have a "medium weight" add since last October....Ive had 1 genuine call....most of the calls are from marketing companies....it costs me quite a lot per month....not worth it at all....Ive had more calls from my free listing!! I wont be using them again!! But it may work for other people....just not me!!

 

[Redvanman]

Yell.com is not all that. I'm on it but its linked with my other net advertisings. I can honestly say that 1 out of 10 calls come from yell.com and that is probably being kind to them.
it also depends on what listing your under. If its electricans then there's hundreds of them so you need to be more precise on what work you want ie domestic electrician

 

[Andy78]

So he called me today and I let him down gently. He has ended all previous calls with a cheery " OK I'll speak to you next time, you take care for now and I hope you enjoy your evening" etc.
I told him I wasn't buying and I got a sulky "right, bye" and he hung up. Lol.

Thanks for the advice everyone :icon4: