[SCREENSHOTS] Evolution of YellowPages.ca Mobile (2009-2011)
Did you know that 30% of YellowPages.ca traffic comes from mobile? Source: YPG.com. This news actually was announced during YPGs 1st quarter results and today, Greg Sterling did a post on his blog regarding this as well, see “YPG: 30% of Our Searches Come from Mobile“. This number is pretty impressive when you consider that only 2-years ago that number represented well less than 1%.
Another piece of news today is that the new YellowPages.ca application is a featured application in the iTunes store – this is pretty big news as you can’t buy your way to this placement, your application has to be deemed pretty good for the Apple editorial team to pick up.
For this blog post I thought it would be great to take a look back.
Having been with YPG since 2006, as an employee (actually been working with the company since 2001), I managed the team that launched YPG into the world of iPhone applications. Back in 2009 there was not a lot of focus on mobile, but since then the mobile team has expanded and is now under the leadership of Matthieu Houle, a colleague and friend of mine who as we say at YPG, is “rocking da house”. Under his leadership there have been 2 more releases of the YellowPages.ca iPhone application with the most recent only 1 month old.
Here is the evolution of the home page of the iPhone Application for YellowPages.ca
2009 (features included basic search for business, people and reverse, display ads, photos and videos)
2010 (features included hot links to popular categories, streamlined and more intuitive interface, all YP.ca content including videos and photos)
2011 (features include ratings and reviews, type ahead for categories and locations and customizable popular buttons)
Download the latest application here in the iTunes store.
On November 8, 2009, I did a blog post, “Canada’s Yellow Pages(TM) Mobile App, over 1/2 Million Downloads and 3 Reasons for its Success” which in terms of the number of downloads is no longer accurate (we are over a couple of million) but the 3 reasons why I believe Canadians love this application hold.
If you don’t want to read the full article, let me summarize the 3 reasons why back then Canadians loved this app and why it holds true today –
1) Simplicity,
2) Content (even more so today) and
3) Usability (which gets better with every release).
The Eco-System of YellowPages.ca Business Data in Canada
Two questions:
How important is it for a local business to ensure that its basic listing data (name, phone number and address) is included in the YellowPages.ca database?
How important is it for a local business to ensure that its enhanced content (hours of operations, products, services, etc) are also included in the YellowPages.ca database?
Ultimately the above questions boil down to, “what’s in in for the SMB”. To help answer this, I have created the following eco-system slide that shows how/who the data from yellowpages.ca gets distributed across the consumer eco-system in Canada. NOTE: This is a representative sample of partnerships of companies that use portions or all of the yellowpages.ca database to offer a local connection to its audience.
For an SMB this boils down to two main reasons why this is important:
1) Time Saving – by having a central distribution of basic + enhanced listing data a SMB does not have to spend time to manage their data in multiple locations.
2) Consistency of Information – having the same information appear in a consistent manner across this eco-system allows a SMB to manage and control their message in a more manageable way.
If it is true that the users will continue to splinter into more consumer platforms it will become more and more critical for a centralized hub that can distribute that information.
In Canada, YellowPages.ca is a very important hub for the SMB market.
What do you think?
Real Estate and Local Search – A Good Combo – Some Canadian Examples
My last post taked about Weather and Local Search and how we completed an integration with The Weather Network and Yellow Pages Group. If you are interested in integrating local search powered by YellowPages.ca in your Canadian property; at the bottom of this post I have connection points – I would be happy to discuss options with you.
For this post I wanted to focus on a couple of integrations on Real Estate websites and Local Search. Both of these categories are completely complimentary and when you combine local search to a real estate offering you provide a more complete user experience.
Integration Example #1 – HomeTrader.ca
About Home Trader (from their website) – homeTRADER.ca – Canada’s Real Estate Search Engine – It’s a one-stop destination with listings and information on homes for sales, apartments for rent, house rentals, condos for sale across Canada.
Here is a quick walking tour of their site:
Home Page (from the home page, it will default you to your IP location, or you can simply enter your location – here is an example of Toronto)
From the home page I selected downtown Toronto and as you can see it will plot all the locations that are available:
When you click on a particular location it will provide you with pop-up summary of the location and give you the option to find more details on the property. I decided to click on a rental property on Nelson Street.
Once you click on the property that you are interesting in finding more details, you have the option of plotting around you some popular local categories (powered by YellowPages.ca). I clicked on a bank icon to see what banks are around this particular location:
The following popular categories you can find around any location on homeTrader.ca – Grocers, Shopping Centres, Schools, Churches, Restaurants, Gas Stations, Clinics, Childcare and Banks.
These are all extremely popular urban market categories that anybody is looking for when moving to a new location in a city. Since each category is toggle on/off makes it very easy for any user to find exactly what is important to them.
Integration Example #2 – ByTheOwner.ca and DuProPrio.com
About ByTheOwner – from their website – Our mission is to give consumers a complete real estate service through the Internet so they can sell, buy or rent a property privately, without an agent and with no commission. Together, ByTheOwner and its French counterpart DuProprio constitute the largest and most visited For Sale By Owner network in Canada.
Home Page – starting with the home page you are presented with a number of hot properties that are available as well as a number of search functions.
If you select a property – you end up going to the properties detail page. On the detail page you are presented with all the details on the property.
Notice at the bottom of the property you are presented with a local search area (powered by YellowPages.ca) that gives a potential new home owner with access to popular search categories and the ability to conduct a local search.
One very nice feature with this implementation is that all the one-click categories are pre-populated based on the location of the address in which you are looking at. The user does not have to think about whether the search is locally relevant or not, all searches are automatically targeted to the properties location – very cool.
From the example above on homeTrader.ca, which is more targeted towards condos, apartments and rentals on ByTheOwner, the categories are move geared towards home owners. Categories such as; Insurance, Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Inspections, Appraisers, Movers, Storage, Lawyers, Building Contractors
This integration is also part of DuProPrio.com, the french language counterpart to the ByTheOwner.com.
So what do you think about the following integrations – is this something that is useful for end users? If you are interested in integrating Canadian local search, powered by YellowPages.ca, in your properties, please feel free to contact me via my LinkedIn.com profile or my Twitter account and I will provide you with my work email address and one of my business development team will connect with you regarding integration options.
Revisiting my Yellow Pages Answers Interview on CP24
I was updating my personal profile within Google today and adding links to the various videos that I have been part of lately. One in particular was my interview with Omar Sachedina of CP24 on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 for the Yellow Pages Answers services, business category data provided by YellowPages.ca. Here is a replay of my video interview with Omar Sachedina:
Related to the answers service, I also wanted to take this opportunity to highlight just how easy it is to get started using Yellow Pages Answers. Before are some screenshots:
First – you will want to visit Answers.YellowPages.ca or if you are french speaking, you will want to visit Reponses.PagesJaunes.ca.
You will notice that the service starts with welcoming you and immediately gives you access to the Answers Help along with a box to post your first question. Before you can start posting a question, look to your right under “Options” and select join.
Second – you have two options to join the answers service, using your Facebook Account or signing up for a new account.
Most users select the signin using your facebook account. If you select this option, you will be presented with the following:
If you don’t already have a facebook account, to set-up your own account on Answers is simply. Fill in email, username and password and agree to the terms of use. From there you will get an email confirmation, click on that and you are finished.
Third – you are finished. Now you can start to post and respond to questions within Answers
This service is a great way to solicit recommendations from your social network or people with the answers network. I did a post back in July on the most unique questions asked using Answers service, many of which now have answers to them.
If you have used the answers service and would like to comment or have suggestions, please post to my comments section or send me an email directly to dsieben … @ … gmail … .com ….
The 8 Most Unusual or Out of the Ordinary Local Business Questions on Answers.YellowPages.ca
The YellowPages.ca Answer Service has been running for over 1-month now and the numbers of local questions being asked and answered is increasing steadily. There are a lot of questions around plumbers, mechanics, electricians, restaurants, etc, however, I wanted to highlight some questions that don’t really fall into the traditional categories of what people are looking for.
Here is my list of the 8 most usual or out of the ordinary local business questions asked by users:
- I need to find mannaquin arms, 10 to be precise. Where can i find them? – mannaguin arms, I wonder what he needs those for? What about the rest of the mannaquin?
- Does anyone know a good, high tech dentist w/ cute assistants in Montreal, QC (near downtown core)? – love this question, forget the dentist, it is all about the assistant
- Does anyone know a nice no-tell hotel in Montreal, QC? – hmmmm, I wonder what the no-tell is about
- Does anyone know a good escort service in saint john? – interesting, perhaps the person looking for the no-tell hotel could help, see above
- Does anyone know a mediocre taco bell restaurant in guelph on? – some would argue that all food at Taco Bell is mediocre
- Where is a good place to buy NHL jerseys in Toronto? Jerseys from other teams, not just the Leafs. – exactly, who would purchase a leaf’s jersey?
- Anyone know a mediator specialized in neighbour disputes in Montreal, QC? – see Samual L Jackson in Lakeview Terrace, might give you some ideas
- Where is the best place for happy hour on a Friday afternoon in Ottawa? – somebody has their priorities straight
I will continue to monitor and update this list later in the year with more unique questions that are being asked.
From a business perspective the Answer service can be used to increase sales and leads to your business. Here are 3-Steps on how a local businesses can take advantage of this service?
1) Create an account and if your business uses Twitter, connect it to your twitter feed
2) Monitor the questions
3) If a user is asking for a recommendation on your business category or you think you can help them out, provide a recommendation. I suggest that you disclose that you are recommending your own business. In the comments field give some insight into why that person should do business with you.
What this does for a local business is gives them direct access to users who might be interested in their products or services and opens a dialogue with users.
Reverse Engineering The Local Media Mix – Who Gets the Credit For the Sale?
One of the most challenging aspects of local businesses is determining what media is driving the sale of a product or service. Some businesses claim the majority of their sales are driven by word-of-mouth, others by a directive medium such as Yellow Pages or Google Adwords and yet others believe creative mediums like Radio, TV or Newspapers are the key to success. Last year I did a post on “Word of Mouth Needs Support – A Deeper Look at Web Referral Traffic” in which I encouraged business owners to get a little more sophisticated in their approach when asking customers the source of a sale.
For this post I wanted to share a personal story of purchasing a Massage Chair. Although this is a high-ticket item, I think it demonstrates the complexity of the local media mix and one of the challenges that local businesses face in determining the source of a sale. For emergency or low engagement products or services the number of steps would likely be less.
Earlier this year we purchased the INADA Sogno Dreamwave Massage Chair from Bodo (read my review here).
In reverse, here are the steps that lead us to making the purchase:
1) Day of Purchase – Used YellowPages.ca iPhone App, did a search for Bodo – Calgary to plot the store address on the map in my iPhone.
2) Visited YouTube to watch any videos I could find on the INADA Sogno Dreamwave Massage Chair, search for Inada Sogno.
3) Performed a Google Search looking for Inada Sogno Massage Chair Reviews.
4) Met the team from Bodo at the Calgary Home Show. Wife had a chance to sit in the chair and test it out. Also, was entered into a home show draw that would have knocked up to $1000 off the price of the chair.
5) Visited Bodo.ca, the corporate web site to learn more about the company.
6) Heard an ad on QR77, the talk radio station that I listen to in the morning on the drive into work, for Bodo. One ad in particular was very interesting featuring the Inada Massage Chair.
7) Moved back to Calgary in 2008, used YellowPages.ca to find Massage Chairs – Calgary and Google for the same search. Checked out a few local retailers and what brands they carried.
8.) At the Toronto Home Show tested out the Sanyo as well as the Panasonic chairs available there. Almost bought the Sanyo at the show. (Note: was living in Toronto at this time)
9) Used YellowPages.ca to find Massage Chairs – Toronto and Google for the same search. Checked out a few local retailers and the brands they carried.
10) Started doing research on Google for Massage Chairs to see what product was available in the market place. There were lots of options; we knew this was going to take some time.
So the question is … who gets the credit for the sale?
A Canadian First – Blackberry Application Featuring People Search
Released over this past weekend was a very cool blackberry application from Yellow Pages Group. The application can be downloaded directly to your blackberry at InstallYP.ca/Blackberry (http://installyp.ca/blackberry) – please note that this link is blackberry specific, if you try to access through a web browser it will tell you that your devise is not supported.
This application features the leading directory services in Canada, YellowPages - for finding a business, Canada411 for finding a person, and a blended Reverse Lookup for finding both people and businesses.
Compatible with the newest blackberries and backward compatible to previous generations, this application automatically detects your device and installs the features that are compatible. For example, GPS search is enabled on devices with GPS, non GPS blackberries won’t see this option.
Lastly, the application auto detects your language settings and is available in French and English – pretty cool stuff.
Some of the high-level features include:
- tab between Business, People and Reverse Lookup
- save listing information through MyFavs or directly to your blackberry address book or both
- people search with integrated find businesses nearby (surprise your date with flowers on the way)
- GPS search (for devices where this is enabled)
- direct connect to Voice Search (no charge usage) if you are on the go
Application is completely free to download and overall is pretty cool and puts the most up to date Business and People information in Canada at your fingertips.
If you are interested, check out other neat local Canadian search applications.
Local Search in Canada Using the Apple iPhone – a Visual Comparision
As the iPhone becomes more and more popular in Canada I decided to take a look at 4 local web products, YellowPages.ca, 411.ca, Canpages.ca, and Google Maps.
I selected these as they all have iPhone compatible versions of their websites. Google Maps is a standard icon on the iPhone by default.
For this particular test I decided to focus on a popular generic category search (dentists in Toronto) and a very specific landmark search (restaurants by Eau Claire Market). For those of you who don’t know, Eau Claire Market is a popular destination located in downtown Calgary. I believe that landmarks would be important search criteria for mobile products.
In terms of ranking, I have decided not to rank the results. For the landmark search I indicated success or failure. You be the judge in terms of your personal preference. Please feel free to add a comment on your favorite or suggest other sites in Canada that have iPhone versions.
Let’s start with what happens when you bookmark the websites above and put them on your iPhone desktop.
From left to right:
Maps (Google) - this is default on your iPhone. One issue that I have is that Apple or Google have failed to customize this icon for regions – notice the US highway signage.
YellowPages.ca – In Canada, Yellow Pages(TM) is a registered trademark and when you bookmark you get the logo on your desktop.
411.ca- They have a unique icon and tell you 411 at the beginning of the text string. The ouch! at the end is a little weird though.
Canpages.ca – No custom icon, uses a screenshot that clearly tells the user nothing.
Let’s look at each property individually based on my two search queries.
First we try Google Maps – “dentists in Toronto” search on Map view.
The same search done via list view.
Here is the screenshot of the details of the business listing.
Finally we will conduct “restaurants by Eau Claire Market”. This search failed as the results are located in Toronto. Google did not recognize this landmark.
Second we try YellowPages.ca here is the screenshot for the “dentists in Toronto” search. NOTICE: with YellowPages.ca you also have the ability to switch to find a person in Canada using Canada411.ca.
Here are the results of this search.
Here is the details of a business listing
Finally we will conduct “restaurants by Eau Claire Market“. This search was a success, landmark was recognized.
Third we try 411.ca here is the screenshot for the “dentists in Toronto” search.
Here are the results of this search.
Here is the details of a business listing
Finally we will conduct “restaurants by Eau Claire Market”. This search failed as the results are located in Ontario. 411.ca did not recognize this landmark.
Fourth we try CanPages.ca here is the screenshot for the “dentists in Toronto” search.
Here are the results of this search.
Here is the details of a business listing
Finally we will conduct “restaurants by Eau Claire Market”. This search failed CanPages.ca did not recognize this landmark.
If you want to see another comparison - check out Taking a Look at Local Merchant Pages in Canada - a post from last December.
Just in time for the release of the iPhone in Canada – YellowPages.ca iPhone / iPod App Gets a Staff Pick Nod
With the July 11th release of the iPhone through the Roger’s Network, which includes Fido, Canada is starting to get iPhone fever.
Some interesting posts on the Canadian launch of the iPhone that I have found interesting in the last week: Read More…
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