Advertisers in BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor™ annual survey of small and medium businesses that use directories (including Internet and Print Yellow Pages) spent more on advertising overall than those advertisers who don’t use directories.

The average annual ad spend for Core* directory advertisers was $6,135, with nearly 16% of their ad budgets going to directories. Compare this to those SMBs that don’t use directories at all, their average annual ad spend was $5,400. The average annual ad spend for Plus Spender* directory advertisers was $87,288, with 10% of their ad budgets going to directories, while the average annual spend for those SMBs that don’t use directories at all was $76,714.

The profile of directory ad buyers is interesting:

• Larger, established and actively growing to be top in their market.
• On average have 40 full-time employees and 19 part-time employees.
• More than a quarter make $1 million to $5 million in annual revenue.
• Majority are in home services, with construction ranking the highest, along with personal services, retail shops and stores.

Directory advertisers spent an average of 39% of their budget on online/digital (including online directories) over the past 12 months. This is not expected to increase over the next 12 months. The survey also shows that 51.8% of advertisers plan on maintaining their spend on directory advertising.

What does this mean in light of the rapidly consolidating U.S. print Yellow Pages industry? Check out our new LCM report on Yellow Pages and Small Businesses will be available for purchase in our eStore for more on directory ad buyers.

*Core SMBs have an annual spend of less than $25,000. Plus Spenders have an annual spend of at least $25,000.

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BIA/Kelsey’s LCM, Wave 20 reports can be purchased a la carte in the BIA/Kelsey eStore. Our LCM reports look at where particular SMBs (broken out by size, vertical, etc.) spend the most, as well as the top channels for advertising and marketing.