RefreshClassifieds

The Yellowpages Groups in Canada has launched their new 2007/2008 print directory in Montreal.   The Yellowpage Pages Group publishes more than  340 annual directories across Canada and runs the industry leading Yellowpages.ca web site.  The most interesting aspect of the launch announce is the quote from Jean-Pascal Lion:

“The Yellow Pages directory is still the research tool of choice for anyone ready to make a purchase,” said Jean-Pascal Lion, Vice President, Marketing, Yellow Pages Group. “Even today, contrary to popular belief, we see that advertising expenses still favor the print book. Every month, some 110 million searches are made in our directories in Canada: 74 million in print and 36 million online. Nearly twice as many users consult the print directory than Internet.”

Its interesting that the company is able to pin point that 110M searches were made with both print and online, and that online is actually the smaller category.   It would be interesting to see some independent third-party research to back this up.  It would also be interesting to compare the number of online searches with other online search providers like Google Local in Canada.

Disclosure:  Yellow Pages Group purchased Trader Media Corporation in 2006 and I was an employee of Trader Corporation from 2006 to 2007 which was owned by Yellow Pages Group.  I still own stock in Yellow Pages Group as a result.

In a response to increased driving and parking fees in the London core,  the Sun UK Newspaper has expanded its classified section to focus on parking services.  An excellent example of a classified provider seeing a market need and adapting quickly to provide service for the category.  The service is also providing some pricing guidelines to help both the renter and the landlord decide on appropriate rates for the parking spot.

Finditt.com has added Dating to its list of Classified Services.  Finditt.com has done reasonably well as a search engine/business directory but has recently been expanding into more of the classified markets.   The focus for Finditt.com seems to be on creating small micro-sites for different business verticals.  Recently they added a specialized Sushi Category to their Business Directory for this reason.

Its not clear whether this approach of creating micro-sites will help or hinder Finditt.com.  Creating too many fragment sites or sections may confuse consumers who want the simplicity of a Google like interface with multiple searches from a single interface.  It could be argued thought that by specializing they can create a more unique experience for users interested in that category and provide a more indepth experience.  In anycase it will be interesting to see if Finditt.com can apply all the resources required to develop each category.

Rocky Mount Telegram has announced a new look to their classified section. The new layout is clean and clear featuring 4 distinct searches for Real Estate, Merchandise, Employment and Automotive. The search for each of these categories was quick and easy to navigate with an RSS/XML export option for consumers that would rather read listings using an RSS reader.

We were less excited about the process to place ads. The process started with a fairly intimidating form that required all the ad information on single page and started with the contact name, business name and phone numbers. The page layout was also clutter with a lot of text and information for call center.

Overall a great improvement though and its great to see a local newspaper investing in the classified site and technology. We feel that creating local brand loyalty is a great way to defend against free online classified sites which are entering the market.

White Directory Publishers, a division of Hearst Holding, has partnered with BIAP to become the exclusive sales force for Yellowpages TV listings.  BIAP is one of the leading technology companies in the the new interactive TV listings marketing and has created the Yellowpages TV listing services for TV set-top boxes.  The relationship allows BIAP access to advertisers from White Directory Publishers, Talking Directory product, the third largest directory publisher in the US.  The partnership covers 28 key markets across the US.

The Yellowpages TV technology leverages the Interactive TV capabilities available in many set-top boxes available across the US that have been relatively unused.  The Interactive TC capability allows consumers the ability to search web sites, or in this case business listings with just their TV remote control.  Its not clear how easy this functionality will be use to but it does create an interesting partnership in the business directory market.

InfoSpace Inc has sold its Directory Business to Directory Publisher Idearc Inc for a reported $225M USD. The flagship of the Infospace Directory Business, Switchboard.com, was also included in the deal as well as all Yellowpages and Whitepages publishing businesses.

Idearc Inc, is itself a new entry to directory business after being spun off by Verizon to publish the Verizon Yellowpages and Whitepages directories. Idearc Inc also operates the Superpages.com web site and indicated the purchase of Infospace Directory business provides more reach for local advertisers.

Highrises.com has launched a new classified section focus on the classified market.  Highrises.com has been focused on providingReal Estate information around the Condomium and HighRise markets.  The site has typically focused on new buildings and professionally listed properties from Real Estate agents.  The new classified service allows anyone to place a classified listing for a property that they are selling through a privately or through a Real Estate agent.

We like the approach and lay out of the classified section but the process of creating an account before you could create a listing was cumbersome.  Ideally the site should allow the user to quickly create a listing and then create a username and password near the end of the process.  It also wasn’t clear if the classified functionality was available in all markets, we were only able to create listings for the Los Angeles market.

Stuff.co.nz is reporting on an interesting case in New Zealand where Registered Therapists were required to be listed in the same Directory Category as less reputable massage parlors.    The perception among many Registered Therapists was that they were being included with Brothel operators.

They have been successful in getting the Yellow Pages NZ staff to re-consider the category and how businesses should be grouped.  I think the most interesting aspect of this situation is that its showing how inadequate directory categories can be when used in isolation.   Its a difficult balance trying to maintain directory categories that remain relevant for advertisers and consumers.   We don’t see the same level of problem online because there is no much more information that can be quickly communicated to distinguish Registered Therapists from Brothels.

SellandRentbyOwner.com has launched into the already competitive market of free classified sites. The focus of the site is on Real Estate, Automotive, Recreational Vehicles and Boats. The site is well designed and fairly easy to place listings. One area we didn’t like was forcing the user to create an account to start this process. We thought it would have been better to have the user start creating their listing and then prompt for a username/password near the end of the process.

The most innovate aspect of the SellandRentbyOwner.com site is the sponsorship arrangement. Listings are currently free because of sponsorship by Barkley Chiropractic. We thought this was innovate approach to generating revenue from a free classified service while creating a benefit for commercial advertisers and keep the classified listings free. We did not see any search engine optimization or online media strategy that would set this apart of the many others in the space.

Another job site has just stepped on the scene, but their primary focus does not seem to be jobs.

Beyond.com differs greatly from the already existing job sites, as it boasts of a network of 15, 000 other websites that through advertising with them, an employer can take advantage of. Their network of sites include ITWorld, America Job Central, Blue Collar Jobs, Job Nut, etc…. They have been able to create a large network because of their job board software. Beyond’s success in entrenching their software in other sites can be attributed to their revenue sharing models. They provide the content and of course, depending on the traffic the partnering site proves, a revenue sharing model conjured. The concept would work especially well for niche bloggers or sites that are industry specific. Beyond could or would aggregate job listings that match the readership profile, in turn providing a value add on the partnering site. The content share does not have to stop with job listings, as Beyond also offers editorial that can be customized.

Where Beyond is similar to CareerBuilder or even Monster is that they too allow for employers to list jobs on their Beyond.com site and seekers to find employment. Providing similar functionality to what already exists today. The site boasts of jobs in over 25 industries and over 25 million professionals in their database.