Yahoo! Yellow Pages

[JonS]

I'm trying to get higher rankings for a local small business website...but due to the fact that we're not selling anything directly through the site (and other factors) the ROI just isn't there to justify a PPC campaign.
If was to get listed in the Yahoo Yellow Pages (not a sponsored listing, just a regular one) would that significantly help my rankings (especially since the website is a locally targeted and the keywords include the city)?

Anyone's thoughts on this? It looks as if Yahoo is doing more to target local searches using internet yp's

[rustybrick]

Really hard to say. All you need to get listed in Yahoo's YP is to be included in infousa or an other provider. It has a little disclaimer at the footer of the YP page, "Business Information provided by InfoUSA ®, Omaha, Nebraska Copyright © 2004."

Then will you rank well?

Here is an example search of New York Cleaners at Yahoo. How did those three cleaners get top rankings? "Distances are in miles from center of New York NY", so its hard to say if you will rank well. Its based on distance from the location you entered in, right now.

[Jeff Martin]

but due to the fact that we're not selling anything directly through the site (and other factors) the ROI just isn't there to justify a PPC campaign.

You dont need to sell something online to track and show a positive ROI. I have clients who sell nothing online but we can still track ROI. You mention other factors, however I wouldnt let the fact that you dont sell anything online hinder you from investigating PPC, especially on a local scale.

Maybe you can collect some type of information from users online or offer specials internet discounts and use the conversion tools that Adwords and Overture already have. You could always just ask people when they visit the store how they heard about you...

[AussieWebmaster]

I would also try getting on the local DMOZ....