The name yellow pages indicates that earlier these directories were printed on paper colored in yellow instead of usual white paper which is used for every other necessities. This process of using yellow paper for telephone directory started in 1883 when a printer had to use it due to the lack of white papers. Later on yellow pages directory made official entry to the industry in 1886, now a day there is no language restriction of using this term only for English speaking countries, any other language speaking countries also use this term commonly for business directories.

In starting days, Yellow pages directory was printed on paper containing address and telephone numbers of the business along with the services it offers which was organized in alphabetical order within any specific area. Various business owners are segregated based on similar services they give out to the general public in the directory pages. In its starting stages, only local telephone company printed out the Yellow pages books however owing to the profits incurred by this type of business numerous other publishers have started giving out yellow pages directories, some of which focus their interest only on certain services.

Yellow pages are published annually and sometimes are distributed for free among few residents and businesses within a specified area. It might be of great wonder to think what are the profits obtained by publishers in doing so? The answer to this question is that publishers generate their livelihood by selling the space for advertising a business or service by some company or even for the company to get listed under certain heading.

With the changing trends and technologies, the term Yellow pages are not only limited to paper printed directories; it is also extended to online directory of businesses.

Yellow pages are the best available advertising medium in the industry which infuses positive features from various other types of advertising media and at the same time they make an effort to mitigate the restrictions imposed by them. Yellow pages have made their presence into the web world also know an Online Yellow pages or Internet Yellow pages or vertical directories that also provide a chance of advertising their services over the internet.

These online yellow pages are directories which are specialized only in commercial listing of businesses, products and services from various organizations which are grouped depending on the category they fall under. This is a type of classified promotion technique availed by any business which will assist them to improve the company’s business.

Many companies are publishing Yellow pages over internet attracted to the benefits it provides mainly in any country which has large number of population and various business activities. These private companies may publish businesses at national level if they wish to or can concentrate only one specific location as per their capability.

Like every other advertising mediums, Internet Yellow pages enables the endorser to select a specific geographic area where they have their office or even if they want to promote their business in the area. The customers can browse through various business available in their area by selecting it in the website and also the category in which they need the services.

Every company gives their complete information about the name, address and telephone numbers also sometimes website addresses so that they can easily be contacted for service by customers. The space allocated for advertising is sold at specific price to the companies who want their products endorsed for in these yellow pages due to its popularity.

Many business owners have come to an understanding that the only way to increase the sales for their company will be only by endorsing the product or services, for which they have to hire a professional who can advertise the benefits of using the product and how useful it can be to serve their purposes. Companies who can or can not hire these professional can also choose to go with online advertising because many of the people these days seem to search for the services over web instead of physically making an effort to find the location of company which may provide the services.

The company should know perfectly where to place the advertisement so that it can be easily found to the customers, instead of solitarily placing an advertisement in some unknown website which may not be frequently visited by people will be waste of time and money. Instead if the company searches for popular places to put up the endorsements then there are greater chances of the company services being utilized. Some such renowned places for promotion of business and services are Internet Yellow pages and Google Ad words, both of which have tight competition.

If any advertisement has to be put up with either of them, it is better to first have a detailed understanding of comparisons between both yellow pages and Google Ad words given below and choose the best of them. The points compared are:

1)      Before placing advertisement in Yellow Pages one of the representatives has to be spoken with since they do not have an option to subscribe or make online payment over the internet, even after submitting the advertisement the user has to wait for at least 2 weeks before the ad is active. Google Ad words provide the link directly to the website, from where the users can directly signup and make online payment and put up the advertisement within couple of hours.

2)      Yellow pages charge an amount on fixed rates as per the subscription choice of the users. Google Ad words enable the user to pay fee only depending on the number of clicks they get for the advertisement.

3)      Yellow pages do not allow the advertiser to come up with various ads at same prices whereas Google Ad words permits the advertiser to customize the advertisement for various searches without any additional charge.

Advertisements in Yellow pages have no competition from any other source of advertising, they do not focus on encouraging the customer to buy particular product, instead they target only in convincing the consumer to acquire a product from one specific company. The success rate of finding your advertisement will depend on the directory of Yellow pages where the advertiser will choose to place the ad. Yellow pages are making maximum efforts in keeping up with latest technological developments especially for people who rely on digital resources to find services or information before confirming a purchase.

Various advantages of advertising in Yellow pages are:

• The price of posting an advertisement in Yellow pages is extensively lesser than that of other television commercials or newspaper ads making it the most suitable option for any business that have cost limitations.
• Yellow pages being popular tend to reach broader range of people in an area also due to the free distribution of printed copies. Local business can extend their services to customers surrounding their business area or also can focus their concentration on people staying at farther places if they have the ability to provide services.
• Also the printed copies can serve as the best resource for any family or individual who have shifted their accommodation to new places where they do not have any other source of finding services apart from the telephone book or Yellow pages directory. The alphabetical order of services also makes it easy to use for the users.

Good news for advertisers who want to use yellow pages is that persons who seek for services or products in these yellow pages are sure to make a purchase and who are in dire need of the services or products.