HIBU and YP? Obsolete and Unnecessary. Avoid Them and Do Your Own Advertising!

As a locksmith of over 25 years, I have taken my last two "yellow pages" ads out.  One ad is with YP in the Tullahoma , TN area and the other is with HIBU in  Murfreesboro, TN.  With HIBU, formerly known as Yellowbook, I also subscribed to their internet product called "Web Reach".  In Tullahoma, the YP ad dominates; and the HIBU ad for Murfreesboro is a full page ad with color that matches my competitor's ad in size and appearance.

As a locksmith that specializes in commercial lock service, including services for residential homes, I have found that Internet pay-per-click advertising is not the way to go.  Although the search phrase "commercial locksmith" is gaining ground, my experience has shown that most people are looking for auto locksmiths online.  Or people looking for any kind of locksmith will just search the phrase "locksmith".  Once these people click my ad, I am charged a hefty fee; and that person will not be my customer.  The conversion rate is poor for me.  To date, I believe that my disastrous HIBU Web Reach program has cost me as much as $40 per customer.  That is just too high for a small business like mine.

But it gets even worse.  By the time I land a paying job from the pay-per-click ad, that call, when taken with all of the other clicks that did not result in a sale, costs me the profit on the job.

It gets even worse. HIBU could do nothing about it.  Even after talking with my representative, and the expert at corporate who monitors the ad, they never got around to listening to me.  I wanted commercial lock clients.  I spent my entire wad of money, thanks to their inattentiveness, on clicks from customers I was not seeking.  The general feel I get from HIBU is that they are there to sell you a product and take your money. After that, forget it.  I am not saying that, if you offer one service, say, like car towing, you will not be able to do well.  I am saying that, if you are focusing on commercial lock service, you are going to end up with a poor campaign.

The YP people offer the exact same products. Yellow pages and Internet advertising.  My Tullahoma yellow page ad, after almost a year, has not generated enough calls to pay for the $180 per month I spend.

After three months, there hasn't been any meaningful results from the HIBU ad, which costs me $615 per month.  But HIBU was happy with my purchasing an obsolete product.  To get me to buy, they showed me yellow page results from a competitor that looked great -- only the results were for six months.  I find that interesting now that I have thought about it.  Though I have been in the book for years, my results are poor.

As a learned, and now "burned", advertiser with HIBU and YP, let me tell you what you can do as a locksmith with your advertising.  You do not need HIBU nor YP.  What you need to do is appear on Yahoo, Google, and other search engine's maps for businesses.  In my target area, I often appear twice on Google Maps!

1.  Buy a three month subscription at UPS stores in the towns you serve. Maybe you do not have UPS stores.  Just look for a place that provides mailboxes with real street addresses.

2.  Go to Vistaprint and buy a small website for around $20 a month.  Under business name, insert Locksmith Murfreesboro, or what ever name you wish that indicates the area you are targeting.  Also include that the site is owned by your lock company.

3.  Through Vistaprint, click the option to have your website submitted to the search engines. The result will be that you will appear on the search engine maps.  However, to be fair with your customers, indicate in your website that you offer mobile service only and that no business is conducted at that business address.  After all, if you lie on your website, your customers will rightfully deduce that you will lie to them.

4.  Remember that it will take a few weeks for Google to send a postcard to each address at which you want to be listed.  Make sure you get the postcard and call to verify the listing.

5.  If you want to do pay-per-click advertising, go to Yahoo or Google and set up your own program. Before you do, find out what the the most popular search terms are for your service.  By doing this, you can control how much money you spend and end the campaign whenever you wish.  You can also upgrade and change the search parameters.  Be sure to include your phone number on the display so people can call you without having to click your ad.

In the end, you will be spending pennies versus dollars for you advertsing.

HIBU and YP are, in my opinion, obsolete and are hanging on to revenues by doing anything they can. Simply put, businesses do not need such middlemen, as  HIBU and YP.  It is time these two companies go the way of the dinosaur.  Your money is better spent in other ways!