Yellow Pages—so familiar, so practical and SO trendy. Have you noticed? Yellow Pages have been in the spotlight now that local search is picking up speed. So much in fact that all the buzz has resulted in a very complete third edition of the Kelsey Group study on Yellow Pages, “Global Yellow Pages(TM) 2005: The Kelsey Group’s Outlook & Forecast” (paid report) all over the globe. And why not, with pay per call starting to pick up speed and looking like the next big time attraction, Yellow Pages are bound to jump in for the ride, tapping into that “familiar” and “practical.” Although according to John Kelsey, the industry, as a whole, has a lot of obstacles and hurdles.

“The Yellow Pages claims they were the originator of local search. The steps that Google, Yahoo! and other online players are taking into local search might have in some way inspired traditional Yellow Pages publishers to become more innovate and adaptive. Also, at the end of the day, everybody will win because directional media, which includes online, local search, print and other flavors such as wireless, is important when the advertiser is closer to the transaction,’ says Neal Polacheck, senior VP, The Kelsey Group.”

For anyone who’s glimpsed into the Kelsey Group’s study, Yellow Pages are everywhere. Today, MSE will shed some light on someone you’re probably not expecting. The Czech Republic’s Yellow Pages publisher, Mediatel, has decided to launch a major online marketing campaign to promote their digital Yellow Pages. After all, their print edition has a significant audience, as 70% of the Czech population relies on the trusty pages.

Much like the yellow pages publishers in other countries, “‘We recognize the growing significance of the Internet [for the Czech business community] and we want to focus on it more,” Řezníčková said. “We want to be more than a mere publisher of the biggest phone directory and companies’ catalog in this country’” says Zuzana Řezníčková, Mediatel’s General Manager. In fact, the move to promote the online version of the popular resource is more than timely, now that the www.zlatestranky.cz are already growing in popularity, with 25% growth in hits since the beginning of this year.

In fact, the popularity of online business directories and search for local information is picking up very fast in the Czech Republic, and the major portals are enjoying the boost, as more and more funds are shifted their way. Atlas.cz, the third biggest portal, hopes their revenues will grow by 60% thanks to investments in online business listings.

According to Oldřich Bajer, of Seznam.cz (the most popular Czech portal), there is an increasing interest in priority listings. Sound familiar? Clearly, the Czech Republic will be moving in the direction that other countries are already quite familiar with. “This year, local Web portals expect to receive some 750 million Kč ($29.6 million) from online advertisers. Half should come from revenues generated through priority listings in business databases.” Not too shabby.

So what’s next? And where do the local Yellow Pages come into the picture. Without a doubt, considering their popularity, they won’t be left behind. Much like in other countries, Mediatel, “has considered possible cooperation with other Web portals to expand its Internet activities.”

So keep your eye on the Yellow Pages—their “golden” in the Czech Republic (golden=zlatý).

Sources:

iMedia Connection

Yahoo Finance

Prague Post

Kelsey Group Blog