or alive and well, and living in Wisconsin?
I just spent about 20 minutes trying to find a spa in Vancouver that I had found ages ago by googling something. I hadn’t bookmarked them, and couldn’t remember their name, except that it might have started with a “B” and was pretty sure one of the keywords I used was pedicure.
So, off to google I went. And didn’t find them. Tried various searches, different combinations, different guides, recommendations, and, …. nada. Brainstormed and came up with some creative phrases, which gave the equally disappointing result of nothing.
I also had a general concept of the neighbourhood they were in, so I tried google maps – to no avail. In fact, the results were mainly for businesses in Vancouver, Washington, so that was supremely disappointing.
Then, a lightbulb went off in my brain – the yellow pages – of course! Again, tried their online site (superpages.ca) and found nothing.
Finally, I remembered that the old yellow pages motto used to be “let your fingers do the walking” and so I did, and quickly found the company I was looking for.They even have a website, and everything. But, obviously, not well indexed.
Back to the concept – are the yellow pages dead? When it comes down to fleeting memories that someone may have of your business, who knows what chance associations they are using to find you. If they can’t find you at all (ie: they are stubbornly determined like I was) online, then you probably need some SEO (search engine optimization) services. Put yourself in your potential clients shoes, and think of keywords, phrase they might be using to find you as a start.
But, as I learned today, it’s still a good idea to pay for that business line and keep your yellow pages listing active. For now, anyhow…