Today, I have a guest blogger. Gail Jordan, a legal advertising consultant based in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Recently, I’ve seen many telephone directory publishers actually paying advertisers to participate in their Internet Yellow Pages (IYP). Yes, it’s true. No, they do not send you a check.

But they are lowering (many times significantly) the fee for their print telephone directories if you participate in their local paid online product. It’s no secret that Yellow Page print most often will cost more if you do not let them (directory companies) do what they want with YOUR business information – like placing it on their IYP product. Could this be viewed as coercion?

I don’t know about you, but I am extremely uncomfortable with how they are approaching the transition from print to online.

It’s my opinion that they are conditioning you to continue the monthly-paying habit, so when print is someday ruled obsolete you will easily transition to their online product without a complaint.

In fact, I’ve seen several huge increases for renewal rates for online yellow page listings. Will law firms soon be looking at fees for the local online product that are equal to the print product? I don’t know, but I do know this. The yellow page industry does have a survival battle plan.

So, if you’re a yellow page print customer, would you purchase space on the local online product if the yellow page print product was not discounted? Many would not because the local IYP’s are still in their infancy.

And the local online products are relatively new so many are not sure of its significance or the impact it will have for local online searches.

Will the local online product become an effective marketing tool for attorneys like the print product has been in the past? Perhaps.

But today, it’s a flip of the coin.

I’ve recently removed several law firms I work with from the local IYP product they were tied to.

The end result – none of them suffered any decline in business after removing them from the local online product.

Yet I have also had success with a national IYP (superpages.com) in NY.

My advice is this. Be wary when your local yellow page rep calls. IYP is not yet ready for prime time and you might get yourself in a long term contract you regret.

If you need guidance with your yellow page marketing efforts – or marketing tactics and trends for attorneys, see her website at www.gjordanconsulting.com or call her at 513-519-4275.