The Yellow Pages Association is now part of the local search conversation over at Search Engine Land as a new contributor to the “Locals Only” column. Today’s first column is called “Welcome to the Local Search Jungle.“
Many online professionals are critical and skeptical of yellow pages and their outlook. And I have certainly been critical of particular players in the past. The yellow pages industry, however, is a central part of what I’ve called “the local search ecosystem.” Unlike offline, the Internet needs a range of companies to complete the value chain from buyer to seller and back.
Google has always said as much but placed new emphasis on partnerships with yellow pages (among others) in its Local Markets Symposium held in December.
Local is one of the most challenging and dynamic markets online or off — and the yellow pages have a critical role to play in bringing SMBs into the online marketing conversation.
