# Advertising - Golden pages or website



## Brigid (7 Apr 2010)

Hi, I wonder does anyone have any views on whether it is better to invests in the Golden Pages or a website in terms of advertising.  Maybe this is the wrong forum to ask such as question since by their very nature people posting here will be computer savvy and will probably be inclined to decide on who to give business to based on information contained in a website, but does anyone know what the 'ordinary' (?!?) person does - is he or she more inclined to look up the Golden Pages or a web site?  Where should we invest??  Many thanks - if this should be moved to another section please do so.


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## jhegarty (7 Apr 2010)

Depends what you are selling.

Eg. Computers and mobile phones on the internet , tractor parts in the golden pages.


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## PaddyBloggit (7 Apr 2010)

Personally I look through websites. If a business has a Golden Pages listing I'll always look at the ones with websites first. A one page website may be all you need.

As *jhegarty *says ... a lot depends on your market but a website is worth its weight in gold if kept simple and made so google likes it. Lots of people search for their products online now. I buy books, dvds, electronics etc. via the net. Anything bigger I like to see first.


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## german (7 Apr 2010)

google is the new phone directory, depending on how competitive your search term is it can work out to be quite expensive so you will need to control your spend


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## Brigid (7 Apr 2010)

thanks, it is a solicitors practice that we want to advertise...


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## jhegarty (7 Apr 2010)

In that case a single page on the internet (contact details , map to location , opening hours, profiles of the solicitors) could be done very cheaply. 

I would spend most of the budget on the golden pages.


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## german (7 Apr 2010)

The website would probably cost 2-300 euro, advertising it on google would be where the real cost would be but you would only pay for what people were looking for so it would at least be relevant search. Golden pages isnt a bad idea either  but you are going to pay even if there is not 1 search


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## Featherhead (7 Apr 2010)

personally I go by word of mouth, google or look at websites. I never use golden pages


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## Brigid (7 Apr 2010)

That's exactly what I do too but not every one has the ability or wish to be on-line for a good portion of the day!  The Golden Pages is really expensive - a one page ad can cost €18,000, but they do special 'offers' to get people to upgrade from an insignificant but also costly 'blot' on the page.


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## PaddyBloggit (7 Apr 2010)

Stick up a web site ... well worth the long term publicity.


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## Truvo (8 Apr 2010)

*Golden Pages and goldenpages.ie*

Hi Brigid,
There is definitely a target market for you to connect with through Golden Pages and goldenpages.ie.
Here is some information which may be of interest to you - 
Solicitors consistently rank in the top 10 searches on goldenpages.ie and contrary to some perception out there, the Golden Pages directory is still the number one source of suppliers (source Lansdowne Market Research, Oct '09) and continues to deliver excellent ROI for advertisers.
If you are interested in a website, we are now offering an extremely cost-effective service that can increase your web presence and see your business rank well on search engines.
Our new product, Truvo MySite is a completely customisable web service which enables you can create and manage your own web presence. All of the information that JHegarty has mentioned (contact details, map to location, opening hours, profiles of the solicitors) and more, can be included. You can also upload photos and videos to promote your practice in a very engaging and professional way. 
Another great advantage of MySite is that your website can benefit from goldenpages.ie's high search engine ranking. We've had excellent feedback to date with some customers come back to tell us that their MySite is ranking better than their own website! 
We have a number of offers available at the moment that can provide you with an excellent presence across our print and online platforms.
You can have complete visibility of your advertising programme's performance as we offer dedicated keyed numbers to track phone calls (through your print and/or online ad) and we track all clicks too. Stats are available to you at any time through a free online reporting tool, Truvo Lounge.
I hope this helps. Feel free to get back to us here, or contact us on info@truvo.ie for more information. 

Best wishes,

Truvo - publishers of Golden Pages and goldenpages.ie


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Apr 2010)

Hi Brigid 

I doubt if many informed internet users use the Golden Pages - either in hard copy or online. 

But informed internet users form only a small part of the market. 

I suspect that the others do actually use the Golden Pages in hard copy. I don't know many people who use it anymore. 



> We stopped advertising in the golden pages last year as the GP rep was  really unreasonable.



I would echo this. They start ringing you around 6 months before the book goes out. They give you "free" upgrades but of couse, you have to pay for them the following year or else discontinue them. 

I must say that I find the one page ads for solicitors in the Golden Pages look sleazy - they seem like ambulance chasers. 

I think you need to be listed but only a small listing highighting some specialist area if you have one. 

You can also get great publicity free by writing articles for local newspapers.

Brendan


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## dockingtrade (8 Apr 2010)

Brendan said:


> I think you need to be listed but only a small listing highighting some specialist area if you have one.
> 
> Brendan


 

out of interest how much is a basic listing pa


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## Brigid (9 Apr 2010)

I dont think that you pay for a one line entry but once you enhance it in anyway you pay.  I think but am open to correction you probably pay extra to have your name in bold, and you definately pay if you want to do more than just have your name address and phone number in plain text.


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## jj72 (9 Apr 2010)

yeah one liner is free any "upgrade" costs


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## Brigid (9 Apr 2010)

thanks for that - I am hoping that my sister will do the design using a template of some kind (maybe even from Weebly) but what I am interested is the SEO (search engine optimisation).  I really do think that if you arent on the first page when someone google's you, you really dont ever get looked at.  I know my searches usually extend to the first page only so that is where the investment will be and where it will be compared to a Golden Pages entry.  the Golden Pages entry will be very modest in terms of size but will probably still cost over €1000...


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## Aurnia (9 Apr 2010)

Golden pages.

I am a 30 something quite net savvy person and not in the professional service or trade sector. 

But when looking for solictors, insurance companies, electricians, plumbers, jewellers, taxi companies, restaurants, hotels and pubs and other goods and services I use the Golden pages hard copy 9 times out of 10 because I like to have a feel of the company from it's advertisment.

I don't find the GP net very good for this aspect. I may then look up the company on their own website but I do my inital search in the GP book.

There are other considerations to think about. 

1) Most companies block websites but there is a hard copy of the GP in most offices.
2) Not everyone is online at home or work especially the older generation - to assume they are, is highly foolish and these people may need the services offered and nearly everyone has a phone. 
3) It takes longer to boot up a pc/laptop than a person looking up a phone book and yes I've found this from experience.
4) What happens if there is an electrical or broadband outage and if people need to access the info, how can they? A torch, GP book and a phone which are already in most homes 
and you could be sorted. 

Yes there is a cost factor but given more business is generated from hard copy I'd say.

Btw a good few people I know still prefer the hard copy - all of us are in our 30's or 40's.


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## tenchi-fan (9 Apr 2010)

Get an entry(even just a line) in the golden pages - without a doubt! I don't know if I'd recommend a full page ad. Don't forget a lot of people use goldenpages.ie.

As for the website... getting your sister to use a template might be a bad idea. Templates can look unprofessional and at the end you can hardly turn around and not use it! Not to mention if you don't use a good host your page will load slowly.


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## jack2009 (9 Apr 2010)

i think you need a website it is cheap enough to do and to keep up to date. But perhaps you could place a simple add in golden pages also.


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