Print Yellow Pages Still Dominant vs. Paid and Organic Search in North American Rural Markets

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Over the last five years, Market Authority has interviewed nearly half a million consumers in 10 countries (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Peru, Argentina).

When looking at overall local business search, study participants report that print directories in rural North American markets are still a considerably more popular medium than either paid or organic search, said Steve Sitton.

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 17, 2013

Market Authority’s recent study ranks print Yellow Pages first (by a wide margin) over paid search regarding where consumers turn first when searching for a local business in rural North American markets. The world's leading Directional Media market research company conducted over 14,000 consumer interviews in U.S. and Canadian rural areas between April and October 2013. The research identifies the specific market share online, mobile, and print currently garner, in a market-by-market, medium-by-medium breakdown.

“The study delves into consumers’ first preference patterns between print, organic search, paid search and Internet Yellow Pages (IYP),” said Steve Sitton, Founder and CEO of Market Authority. “Consumers report clicking into organic search much more than paid search, making organic search the most effective single digital source of local business information in rural markets. That being said, when looking at overall local business search, study participants report that print directories in rural North American markets are still a considerably more popular medium than either paid or organic search.”

Market Authority estimates that in many U.S. and Canadian rural markets, online directories, like YP.com and YP.ca, may have more strength than paid search when IYP direct clicks are added to click-through from organic search. “These online directories perform well from a search engine optimization standpoint,” Sitton said.

The perception among advertisers (and consumers) is in stark contrast to the consumer local search reality. “Most business owners around the U.S. and Canada imagine that paid search is far stronger than print directories as a local business search medium; however, according to rural consumers, this is clearly not yet the case,” Sitton said.

“The main thing print directory publishers must do to extend the time period where print is ranked number one in rural markets is to build ad content so that the potential profits that remain in print may be maximized,” Sitton concluded. “These publishers can then use profits from print to fuel their digital expansion while they also maintain their current most important objective of effectively connecting buyers and sellers everywhere consumers search.”

Early results of Market Authority’s ongoing research in North American metro markets suggest that print is still a more popular medium than paid search by itself and it is less popular than organic search. The results of Market Authority’s metro study, still in progress, are to be released in early 2014.

“Our objective is to help Directional Media companies and their advertising clients understand where they need to invest their ad dollars to most effectively attract the highest number of meaningful customer contacts,” Sitton concluded.

About Market Authority
Market Authority is the leading market research/sales training company in the Directional Media industry. Over the last five years, Market Authority has interviewed nearly half a million consumers in 10 countries (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Peru, Argentina). We have conducted over 450 training sessions with more than 12,000 salespeople. For more information about Market Authority visit http://MarketAuthority.org.

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