Ce qui suit est une traduction en français de l’article publié par Tom Tsinas: Google Vs Yellow Pages

Cette bataille est plus proche que vous ne le pensez. J’entends constamment que Les Pages Jaunes se meurent et qu’elles n’ont aucune valeur. Pendant que plusieurs croient que je jette un regard biaisé sur la chose parce que j’ai travaillé durant des années dans cette industrie, la même chose ne peu s’appliquer lorsqu’il s’agit de Google Analytics.

Google Analytics ne peut mentir, cela ne peut être biaisé et, merci mon Dieu, Les Pages Jaunes nous offrent un portrait différent de celui que nous présentent les soi-disant experts. Vous n’avez qu’à savoir ce que vous cherchez.

Andrew Goodman, of Traffick.com and Page Zero Media, and I are if not friends, well, at least peers with a mutual and healthy respect for each other both knowing exactly how long the other has been at this Search (whether paid or otherwise) stuff in this country. Over the years we’ve lunched, coffee’d and conferenced together.

And always, one theme has come up. When and why did Canada miss the boat when it comes to search and the Internet?

Coincidentally, Andrews post of today “When Registering Domains, Think Big”, he states:

Personally, I have a real problem with the .ca.

It was my intention to blog on something else today until I chanced upon this article from SearchEngineWatch.com: 48 Practical Questions to Qualify Prospective Search Marketing Vendors by Marty Weintraub.

The 48 questions in question are both enlightening and informative.

And frankly, they should be information volunteered, not solicited. Run the questions around your agency/office and everyone from the receptionist to the CEO should be able to answer any one of them.

It was just my birthday, so I get to make a wish. And I’m going to…

I’m going to make a wish for Google, a wish for Yahoo and a wish for MSN/Live/Sympatico.

My wish for Google for 2008.

My biggest wish for Google for 2008 is a “negative” geotargeting capability. As odd as that may sound, in my 2007 travels I came across a need/desire for it more than once. To wit: I want all of Ontario EXCEPT Toronto… ergo, negative option Toronto for me. In the Google world, I can set an all Ontario Campaign and a Toronto campaign. Wouldn’t it simply be easier to do the reverse?

Hmmmm…..Sometimes you find things when you least expect it. Like when you happen to be in a meeting, doing a sample search and find yourself standing bolt upright, pointing and exclaiming, “OHMYGOD WHAT’S THAT?!?!” noting, “hmmm, that’s interesting”, as I found myself doing this morning.

Google has gone a step beyond maps to introduce addresses directly into Adwords ads and apparently is running a small test sample.

Do I like it? I’m not convinced.

Is it functional? Perhaps a little.

Its official, Facebook’s Toronto network just surpassed the 1 million member mark (see screen print below … I captured it at the moment it hit 1,000,000 just for dramatic effect), and is growing in excess of 1500 new members per day. Toronto is the first city in the world to have this unique distinction. Here are the member numbers for some other significant cities:
New York City - 606,000
Chicago - 462,000
Los Angeles - 384,000
Atlanta - 280,000
Dallas - 235,000
Miami - 118,000

Codicil: Anyone who knows me know I’m the second last person in the world to suck up to the boss… (I’d say last but that’s too much like aspiring to a recognizable title, which I don’t as a rule do.)

I would like to think I’m a good employee, showing up on time, putting in an honest day’s work, playing nice with all the other kids, telling all the other kids where I got my toys (cause let’s face it, no one really likes to share).

It is with great pride that I get to announce another Canadian first (to the best of our knowledge) for Search Engine People. We are the newest addition to the list of Microsoft adExcellence accredited companies.

Due to the determined effort of a certain SEP paid search director, and you know who you are, we are the first Canadian company to become adExcellence approved.

In short, Search Engine People is a triple threat company. Yahoo! Ambassadors, the first Canadian Google Adwords Qualified Company, and now the first Canadian Microsoft adExcellence company.

This battle is a lot closer than most of you can imagine. I’m constantly hearing about how the Yellow Pages are dying and there’s no value in them. While most may say that I’m biased because of the number of years I spent in the industry, the same cannot be said for Google Analytics.

Google Analytics cannot lie, it has no biases and, thank goodness for the Yellow Pages, paints a much different picture than many so called experts. You just have to know what to look for.

Further to my August 23rd post, “Yellow Pages Goes Social” I talked about how the Yellow Pages Group in Canada had launched their integration of Facebook for users who want to save and share their favorite businesses by using their link function on Facebook.com.

Darby Seiben, Senior Manager - Traffic, Distribution and eProduct Management with YellowPages.ca, posted a great update on his blog letting us know that yellowpages.ca expanded this one step further by integrating the “add to facebook” directly into the search results as well as the business profile page for every business in Canada