Yell.com websites, are they worth it?
Discussion
Hope I'm in the right place to post this question.
I run a business (antique furniture restoration) as a sole trader and have done for over twenty five years. Needless to say I have generated a decent core of repeat customers but like to keep my name 'out there' to pick up new clients.
My main advertising budget has always been with 'Yellow Pages' as that was what everyone did in the old days right? Gradually this has decreased (to the point where it is now just a line entry) with the arrival of my website, which whilst basic does the job. This was created and optimized by Yell but now is not suitable for tablet and mobile viewing.
So now they have offered me a new website for £250, half their normal price, which sounds cheap, but the monthly optimization fee is £55 which is more than double what I currently pay.
So can anyone advise whether this represents value for money or should I be looking at other options like building something basic myself using Wix.com and just pay Yells optimization fee?
Apologies for the long ramble and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I run a business (antique furniture restoration) as a sole trader and have done for over twenty five years. Needless to say I have generated a decent core of repeat customers but like to keep my name 'out there' to pick up new clients.
My main advertising budget has always been with 'Yellow Pages' as that was what everyone did in the old days right? Gradually this has decreased (to the point where it is now just a line entry) with the arrival of my website, which whilst basic does the job. This was created and optimized by Yell but now is not suitable for tablet and mobile viewing.
So now they have offered me a new website for £250, half their normal price, which sounds cheap, but the monthly optimization fee is £55 which is more than double what I currently pay.
So can anyone advise whether this represents value for money or should I be looking at other options like building something basic myself using Wix.com and just pay Yells optimization fee?
Apologies for the long ramble and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
akirk said:
simple answer - no.
we have helped clients move away from Yell - they make it very difficult, and left with them you are paying way over the odds for what you get.
This. Every Yell site I have seen and taken over (4 so far) has been incredibly badly put together.we have helped clients move away from Yell - they make it very difficult, and left with them you are paying way over the odds for what you get.
I have a client that pays for some marketing with Yell. He is seeing no return on the money spent so far.
Facebook?
Little local doordrop? Royal mail charge £500 minimum, so you would need 4-5 postal sectors worth to get over that, about 15k items
Free newspaper inseet, or is there a local business page on your area of the internet?
The yellow pages came through our door a few weeks ago, its laughably small, I remember it being massive when I was a kid, huge and thick. Bet they had a sad time in the office when it reduced by that much!
Little local doordrop? Royal mail charge £500 minimum, so you would need 4-5 postal sectors worth to get over that, about 15k items
Free newspaper inseet, or is there a local business page on your area of the internet?
The yellow pages came through our door a few weeks ago, its laughably small, I remember it being massive when I was a kid, huge and thick. Bet they had a sad time in the office when it reduced by that much!
As above really, stay away from Yell/Hibu. Their sites are the worst type of templated rubbish around.
For me I'm not sure keeping the name out there is even the right thing to do. Your service is fairly specialist so any mass media is gong to miss the mark with most people. I'd be trying to understand where your customers come from, what else they are into, where they buy the furniture, where they sell it and so on. A few well places adverts/posters/leaflets/emails could be much more productive than a 10k leaflet drop into houses which are mainly kitted out in Ikea and DFS.
For me I'm not sure keeping the name out there is even the right thing to do. Your service is fairly specialist so any mass media is gong to miss the mark with most people. I'd be trying to understand where your customers come from, what else they are into, where they buy the furniture, where they sell it and so on. A few well places adverts/posters/leaflets/emails could be much more productive than a 10k leaflet drop into houses which are mainly kitted out in Ikea and DFS.
Thank you guys, It looks as though you've confirmed my fears about the Yell/Hibu deal I've been offered.
The website really would be a basic site, aimed at just showcasing my work and services rather than an attempt to generate an enormous amount of leads. As has been mentioned it's not that type of business (one good telephone call from a client can tie me up with work for many weeks). I think it's just that I feel I need to have something on the web so that when a search is made for a restoration company in my area I appear along side (or above) my competition.
I'll think on it further but discount the Yell option. Thanks for your replies.
The website really would be a basic site, aimed at just showcasing my work and services rather than an attempt to generate an enormous amount of leads. As has been mentioned it's not that type of business (one good telephone call from a client can tie me up with work for many weeks). I think it's just that I feel I need to have something on the web so that when a search is made for a restoration company in my area I appear along side (or above) my competition.
I'll think on it further but discount the Yell option. Thanks for your replies.
I own a small business and have a website, that my advertising with Yell directs customers to.
I have reduced the Yell spend gradually over the years and it will end this year. It don't see the spend even covering it's cost now, let alone generating a profit. Things have moved on.
Getting a decent website built for you is not that expensive especially for a small business that just needs to be 'out there'. You may need to spend a bit of time every now and then 'working it' to keep it "up" in Google but I find it takes about 5 mins a day for 3 or 4 days when you think things are a bit slow.
I have reduced the Yell spend gradually over the years and it will end this year. It don't see the spend even covering it's cost now, let alone generating a profit. Things have moved on.
Getting a decent website built for you is not that expensive especially for a small business that just needs to be 'out there'. You may need to spend a bit of time every now and then 'working it' to keep it "up" in Google but I find it takes about 5 mins a day for 3 or 4 days when you think things are a bit slow.
Website come in 2 parts, what it look like and how it gets seen. Yell produce crap sites but you can edit it yourself and make it what you want, most people dont bother and just get s
t, their own fault. Getting it seen is more difficult and I find Yell do that surprisingly well at a reasonable cost. I am happy with what I pay and get.
t, their own fault. Getting it seen is more difficult and I find Yell do that surprisingly well at a reasonable cost. I am happy with what I pay and get.Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff