First I would like to thank the other guy for posting about Yeslocal. Yeslocal is an advertising company based out of New York, NewYork. I own a small appliance repair business in the Houston area.
Yeslocal contacted me and wanted to advertise my company on Google, Yahoo etc, for a certain budget every month (1.5k) and said I "my company" would be the only company on the sponsored links area that they would advertise for in the geographical area.
It sounds super great when talking to the person on the phone. I would have used their service had I not already (years ago) learned how to advertise on Google. Since I advertise on Google I know EXCATLY how the system works.
The sales guy at Yeslocal, or "Yes local", and I had phone conversations for several days because being the "business" guy I am, I just wanted information.
Let me say that I have advertised my business on Google for years and I know what keywords cost what. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN NUMBER 1 in the sponsored area of Google hence I pay the most money to have that spot. My keywords cost from $7-10$ per click for my "nitch" of business in my area. So I pay Google bundles of money to have the number 1 spot.
This is why yeslocal are crooks;
I noticed one day that 2 of my competiors were above me in the sponsored area of Google. WOW! There paying more then me I said! No biggie, it happens from time to time. Its part of the business life! Well I decided to check out my competitions websites, AND would you belive they look almost 100% the same except for their name and phone #... Well they were! Hmmm, I said... OK, so I dont like my number one spot taken away from me so I decided to pay more money and up my cost per click. Anybody that uses Google Adword knows that you can figure out what your counter part is paying for their cost per click within. 25 cents or so just by bumping up your click, and when you advance above your counter part in the sponsored area then you have a good idea what you are paying. Well guess what people! Guess! I got up to $19.30 per click just to advance above one of my counter parts and get second place. Well I figured out (due to there advertising logos on the bottom of the website, ie created, advertised by...) that both of the top companies were being advertised by YESLOCAL company based in New York. Futhermore its just crazy to pay $19-$20 per click when most clicks dont convert to jobs and when you do get a job (appliance repair) you only charge on average $180... Well if you have 5 clicks thats a 100 bucks and then parts, paying employees etc, you will lose money.
So, Yeslocal was advertising 2 companies in the same area and FUTHERMORE, ROTATING those companies back and fourth between the number 1 and 2 spots on the Google sponsored links at $19-$20 PER FREAKIN CLICK...
Outcome: I called both companies (my competitors) and told them what Yeslocal was doing. Both companies fired YESLOCAL shortly after. As the other guy says, they also dont just charge you the $49 monthly service fee. That is a straight up LIE! In my opinion they are doing the following: If your budget is $2,000, they keep 1k and spend 1k on your actual advertising, and max your budget out quick to get you to put more money into your account with YesLocal.
Yes, you will get some results and a few jobs (clients) out of advertising with YesLocal but they will keep you poor!
Finally, I had many conversations with the YesLocal rep. And I finally told him that I know my stuff and that I do my own advertising through Google, Yahoo etc, and that What they were doing was wrong. I told him that it wasnt ethical to have 2 companies he was advertising for in the same area and raise both of their bids high and rotate the companies in and out of the top pos. To max out their budgets.
After I called those 2 companies and explained what was going on I recieved a call an hour later from the YesLocal rep and boy oh boy was he pissed. He threatend me and said that he was going to "take care of me".
Anyways, sorry for the rant but It pisses me off just to think about it. If YesLocal calls you just hang up the phone. America is driven on small business's and business owners. Don't let YesLocal Rob you. If you want to advertise online, go directly to the source and advertise. Yes it is hard to learn at first, and you WILL make mistakes but it will help you in the long run if you just do it yourself.
Brian g
Spring, Texas
U.S.A.
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