Posted on October 11, 2009 by Alex Morales in Search Engine Marketing

Have you noticed that many people don’t even pick up delivered phone books; they sit out on the driveway often soaked with rain? Then, they are tossed in the trash or if we are lucky, in the recycle bin. Thanks to Google and Switchboard.com most people are able to find a more current and comprehensive list of businesses online complete with directions, reviews, web site pages and more!

With countless businesses going green and utilizing paperless billing (including Web Editor’s Inc.!), we feel the time has come to do away with a wasteful dinosaur – the paper phone book. The majority of businesses today are listed online which is not only accessible via the web but on mobile devices as well. If we stopped using the monstrous amount of paper used for phone books each year, we could make a significant impact on the environment. The phone book companies often use a tactic called “saturation distribution” which means you may get phone books even if you don’t have a land line.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who no longer use your phone book it’s time to opt-out, here are a number of methods:

• Fill out this form (http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/opt-out.php?page=cat&state=pages&city=stop-yellow)
• AT&T/YellowPages (formerly SBC and Bell South): 1.800.792.2665
• Verizon (Idearc): 1.800.888.8448
• Dex: 1.877.243.8339
• Yellow Book: 1.800.373.3280 or 1.800.373.2324

If you do find that you would like a copy, you can simply call and request one, the decision to go paperless is not permanent. What does this mean for your business? Here are some important facts:

• 43% of search engine users are seeking a local merchant to buy something offline.
• 54% of search users have substituted Internet/search for the phone book (Source: comScore Networks)
• 73% of activity online is in one way or another is related to local content. (Google 5/07)

If your web site is not adequately listed for local search, your marketing may be out of synch with your customer’s habits. Contact us today to discuss our local or national online marketing packages.