Business VoIP

Online advertising is on the rise, even with the impending release of the new Internet Explorer that threatens to interfere with the potential of this market.

 

According to a review of quarterly financials reported by five public Yellow Pages publishers, the average share of revenues from online advertising was 15.2 percent for the first half of 2008, up from 12.8 percent in the first half of 2007.

According to the Kelsey Group, this figure illustrates how quickly the shift from print to online is taking place. While advertisers are seeking to get their message to their target audience in the most effective medium, the shift in Web browsers to more personalized information and even the ability to block ads altogether will certainly have an impact on this industry moving forward.

 

This analysis aligns with the firm’s directional media forecast released earlier this year. This forecast indicated that growth in directional advertising, including local search, print Yellow Pages and Internet Yellow Pages, would be driven in large part by growth of the interactive segments.

Although local search and IYPs continue to gain market share, Kelsey Group analysts emphasize that print will remain the most important source of leads for small businesses, reinforcing the multiplatform business model.

A well-trained sales force is concerned to be a critical element in the success of a multiplatform business strategy. As such, it is a primary focus in the Kelsey Group’s upcoming Directional Media Strategies 2008 conference, Sept. 15 to 17 in Atlanta.

“As the revenue mix becomes diverse, the importance of adjusting the business model, and the way the sales channel is organized, becomes much more acute,” said Charles Laughlin, senior vice president and program director of The Kelsey Report and managing editor of The Kelsey Group. “At DMS ‘08, we will take a close look at the complex multiproduct offerings sales reps are now selling and what publishers are doing to position their sales forces to succeed.”

DMS ‘08 is The Kelsey Group’s 29th Yellow Pages and directory conference, and it attracts the widest and most diverse audience of senior executives from across the global directional media industry, according to the company.