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.

According to a new study from the media advisory firm, Heernet Ventures, the US print and online yellow pages market should reach revenues of US$18.2 billion by 2012, . The study forecasts market growth from an estimated US$16.95 billion in 2007 to US$ 18.21 billion in 2012. While the local print market will decline by -1.5%, online yellow pages revenues will grow by 26.7%, and that doesn’t account for mobile search revenues.

Hot off the heels of Google offering free Mobile Adwords until mid November and The Kelsey Group boldly predicting mobile search to generate more than $1.4 billion in ad revenue by 2012, comes a new survey from Nielsen/NetRatings and WebVisible, which shows a whopping 92% of 2000 U.S. Internet users surveyed, felt that receiving local business ads on their cell phones would be “irritating.”

This doesn’t bode well for mobile marketers and SEO’s who are hoping to cash in on the mobile hysteria, particularly when the same survey revealed that nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users believe they are overexposed to advertising.

Hot off last August’s announcement that R.H. Donnelley (No. 3 Yellow Pages publisher in the US) had begun selling ad placements in Yahoo! Local, comes today’s news that Canada’s Yellow Pages Group will begin reselling Google AdWords advertisements.

Its agreement with Google allows Yellow Pages approximately 425,000 advertisers to appear alongside Google search results. Previously, Google Local or ‘Maps’ would display only names and addresses of Yellow Pages’ businesses next to results from searches on local information.

Yellow Pages Group has been working with Google since 2004, when they struck an agreement granting the Internet giant access to its databases and, quietly I may add, began embedding Google AdWords on its websites earlier this year.

My friend Peter Papadimitriou at Globecraft sent me the following email he received from Google:

Dear Peter Papadimitriou,

We are happy to announce a new feature that will allow you to
easily reach additional qualified customers who are searching
Google from their mobile phones.

In the next few days, your search ads will be eligible to run on
Google Mobile Search pages (like they currently do on Google.com).
We are offering this feature - and any resulting clicks - for
free through November 18, so you can experiment with the rapidly
growing mobile platform while still reaching qualified customers.

Last month I blogged about the death of the Yellow Pages being premature. The next day, R.H. Donnelley continued its aggressive online push by acquiring Business.com for $345 million.

Today, R.H. Donnelley, the No. 3 Yellow Pages publisher in the US, announced it has begun selling ad placements in Yahoo! Local, according to a News Observer report.

The most popular question I’ve been asked by co-workers, associates and friends upon my arrival has been “why did you leave the Yellow Pages?”. The question doesn’t appear ominous until you consider the smug look on their faces. Immediately, I know what they’re thinking. They’ve read Bill Gates’ now infamous quote “Yellow Pages usage among people below 50 will drop to near zero in the next five years.” Their perception is that I jumped from a sinking ship. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

It reminds me of a scene in Monty PythonÂ’s “Holy Grail”….Â…

(English version) Vous avez vu vos parents le faire. Vous avez besoin d’un plombier? Regarder dans les pages jaunes. Vous d販rez trouver un dentiste? Feuilletez les pages jaunes.

CÂ’est une institution, LA norme, la faæ®® de trouver un commerce prç± de chez vous.

Les Pages Jaunes ont d衵t矬a m鬥 ann裠que les verres de papier ont 赩 inventè±® La m鬥 ann裠que le premier Model T est sorti de la chaí­¥ de production . CÂ’est aussi lÂ’ann裠o�papier cellophane a vu le jour. Nous 賩ons en 1908.

CÂ’est bien vrai: Les Pages Jaunes ont presque cent ans.

Il va de soi, 賡blies 22 ans avant le premier ordinateur analogique (le *differential analyzer*) et 43 ans avant que le premier ordinateur commercial soit mis en march砻( appel硩trangement Univac 1), Les Pages Jaunes ne peuvent qu’esp豥r avoir un avenir similaire �elui des dinosaures. Non?

Faux!

Le r貥au des Pages Jaunes au Canada( maintenu par le Groupe Yellow Pages) se situe au 7eme rang des sites les plus visit豠par les canadiens, atteignant 43% des canadiens en ligne �n rythme de 9.9 millions de visiteurs �haque mois.

C’est un exploit assez remarquable, sp袩alement si l’on consid籥 combien cela demande de travail au niveau des moteurs de recherche d’attraper une part du march矬ocal search.

(version franæ ©se) You saw your parents do it. Need a plumber? Check the Yellow Pages. Find another dentist? Browse the Yellow Pages.

It’s an Institute, the de facto standard for finding a business near you.

The Yellow Pages started in the same year paper cups were invented. The same year the first Ford T’s rolled of the production line. It was the year cellophane was invented. It was 1908.

That’s right: Yellow Pages goes back almost 100 year.

After yesterday’s post, my boss a friend and I had a discussion about what it all meant.

His take is that while the IAB is predicting significant slowing in online advertising in the coming year, this is just a pause so everyone can take a moment to stop and catch their collective online advertising breath.

It plays out like this, states he: The mindshare for Internet usage is give or take 25% of time and as such, the online advertising budget should be approximately 25% of the total advertising/marketing mix, not the scant 8% it currently is.