Start a local-directory review by checking whether a customer can identify your business, understand what it offers, and contact it successfully. Once those basics work, evaluate any paid advertising proposal against a defined service area, budget, and measure of useful inquiries.
Audit the information a customer actually sees
Yellow Pages provides a business directory and routes for claiming a listing and buying advertising. Treat the listing's factual accuracy and an advertising contract as separate tasks.
- Search your business name and location, then look for duplicate or outdated entries.
- Check the displayed name, address or service area, telephone, website, category, and hours.
- Try the phone and website links from a mobile device.
- Read the description as a new customer: does it identify your actual service and area?
- Use the directory's official owner process to request corrections and retain the confirmation.
Repeat the check after a move, new phone number, changed hours, or service change. A correct listing needs maintenance when the underlying business changes.
Keep control of your business accounts
Google describes Business Profile as a free way to manage an eligible business's presence on Search and Maps. Its eligibility and verification process are separate from a Yellow Pages account or paid directory package.
For Google Business Profile, owner and manager roles let people use their own accounts. Assign access deliberately and review it when staff or agencies change. Use the equivalent role controls where another platform provides them.
Keep a private account inventory: platform, profile URL, business-controlled owner account, assigned managers, recovery arrangements, and date checked. When an agency sets up a profile, establish how your business will retain ownership and access at the end of the relationship.
Compare a paid offer before signing
| Topic | Ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Exact directories, pages, ad formats, and service areas | A broad network claim can hide what you are actually buying. |
| Cost | Setup, monthly charges, taxes, and optional services | Compare the complete commitment. |
| Term | Start date, minimum term, renewal, and cancellation process | Know when and how the commitment can end. |
| Measurement | Definitions of impressions, clicks, calls, and leads | Different counts answer different questions. |
| Access | Reporting access and ownership of profiles, domains, and creative files | Keep usable records and control of business assets. |
Ask the seller to show a sample report and explain how it separates spam, wrong numbers, duplicate inquiries, and relevant customer requests. A claimed lead total is hard to evaluate without that definition.
Worked example: count useful inquiries
Define “qualified” before the campaign starts: an inquiry for a service you provide, within the area you serve, from a plausible customer. Keep the same definition across channels. Record actual booked work separately from inquiries and avoid counting the same customer twice.
Choose a review period that fits your sales cycle. Use the results to decide whether to revise the offer, change the ad, or end the commitment according to its terms. A small sample is a starting observation, so record uncertainty alongside the numbers.