The Yellow Pages have been around for a loooong time. According to Wikipedia, the term “yellow” pages” came about in 1883 when a printer in Cheyenne, Wyoming (who was working on a regular phone directory) ran out of white paper and began using yellow paper instead.  Later on, in 1886, a man by the name of Reuben Donnelly officially created the the first copy of the yellow pages directory.  Today, the Yellow Pages are still used although the recent surge of Internet use over the past decade has introduced a web copy of the Yellow Pages, which is highly accessible.

Making the Transition from “Yellow” to “Web”

In recent years, the Yellow Pages has made its way to the Internet.  Although the printed version of the Yellow Pages still gets delivered to people’s doorsteps, the Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) can be delivered at the touch of a button thereby making it more accessible.

Also known as “vertical directories,” IYP’s offer online advertising and are consumer as well as business oriented.  IYP’s developed mainly as a result of publishers not making as much money off of the printed version of the Yellow Pages.  This was due solely to the fact that people and consumers alike had started shopping and doing more business-related things on the Internet. Also marketing products and services on the Internet was a lot cheaper than marketing on paper.

Going, going, gone…

There are still those of out there who will always prefer to see something on paper, something we can hold in our hands. And there are those of us who don’t want to risk getting a paper cut when it comes to looking up a phone number or address.  Today, many businesses prefer Internet marketing to old fashioned paper marketing.  Whatever the case, the Yellow Pages will always be the “big brother” to IYP.

As most now know Google is in the TV advertising game. All TV ads are running through Dish Network for now. The user interface for the TV advertising is consistently simple as the AdWords advertising. Still the options we love with AdWords like day parting, budgeting, demographic targeting based on networks, programing etc. However all changes take effect the next day. Great tracking as we are accustomed to from using analytics data. For those of us that have used radio advertising they do have a Market Place for finding people to help us develop our TV Ads. With the Google TV Ads you can block and select the actual programing (show’s) you want and don’t want to show for. I believe this is a great step in the right direction for the control and reporting that small to large business are looking for with TV. Obviously for the cost of creating ads and the actual air time it will be reserved for those companies that can maximize a relatively higher advertising budget with Google TV advertising. I look forward to hearing success stories using Google TV Ads. Noah @ LookToTheRight.comÂ

Advertising isn’t as easy as you think, and it definitely isn’t as easy when it comes to electronic marketing.  All of the same rules involved in other forms of non-electric advertising still apply to internet marketing and then some.  For this reason, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prepared guidelines in order to promote a healthy exchange of information as well as to protect businesses and consumers alike.

What CAN’T I Do?

The Federal Trade Commission Act was created out of the FTC to act in the interest of all consumers in order to prevent unfair practices.  Things that advertising should not do are: mislead consumers and/or affect a consumer’s decision whether to purchase the service/product.  At the outset, this might not seem like a big deal, but you’d be surprised at how many people get in trouble for false advertising.  It’s one thing to misjudge your target audience; it’s quite another to purposely try to mislead them.

Protect Yourself

Good internet marketing begins with smart internet marketing.  The FTC holds website designers and/or advertising agencies responsible for reviewing any marketing information to make sure it is truthful.  To protect themselves, the FTC suggests that catalog marketers ask for material from manufacturers to back up claims.  If the manufacturer is hesitant in providing you with the materials, a red flag should fly up.

Some other points that the FTC wants Internet marketing agencies to consider include the following:

• If you’re advertising a service, disclaimers and disclosures must be noticeable where the consumer will be able to read or at least hear the information.
• Demonstrations of how a product is used must accurately show how the product will perform under normal use (ex: paper towels, glass cleaner, etc.)
• If you promise to give a consumer their money back, do it.
• Be careful of advertising to children.  Know all of the information and rules governing it.

By following this advice, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.