In working with small to mid-size companies, I’m regularly astounded at how much business owners spend in annual Yellow Pages advertisements. I am equally astonished by how reluctant those same companies are to spend a fraction of that cost on an internet website for their business. Let’s review the benefits of a website, and how it can work will with a Yellow Pages advertisement.

One benefit of a website for your business is the equality you have with larger businesses with larger budgets. Unlike advertising in the Yellow Pages, where advertisement sizes are proportional to cost, the internet levels the playing field. Whether you’re FedEx or Ellie’s Country Crafts—you have the same opportunity to present a full computer screen with detail to promote your business or sell products.

A second benefit of a website is its flexibility. For example, what if during the year your store location should change, or you become a licensed distributor for a product? With an annual publication, these items are fixed in print until next year. On the internet, this information can change as often as is necessary.

Third, because there is flexibility to update content, and print dimensions are gone, you can include additional information about your business on the web. For example, in your small Yellow Pages advertisement, you might only list your main service as “Mobile Pet Grooming” with a phone number. With a website, you could include more information—with cute photos of pets, service rates, your experience, and testimonials from satisfied pet owners.

Fourth, like a Yellow Pages advertisement, the internet is always available. Some people prefer to shop and make purchasing decisions in the evenings. However, if someone calls your business at 9:00 pm with an inquiry, you might not answer the telephone. However, if your website is listed under your phone number in your advertisement, you allow potential customers to find out more information online—at their convenience.

To illustrate these points, consider a scenario in which a couple is on a business trip for a week in your city. Their car requires unplanned transmission repair; they need a reputable automotive repair shop. That night, the wife asks the hotel concierge for her recommendations. She’s new to the area, but mentions she’s taken her car to a shop nearby. Meanwhile, the husband calls their automotive insurance company and learns there are nine recommended facilities nearby. The Yellow Pages has four pages of automotive repair facilities. Which one do they choose?

That same evening, he notices that two of the garages list their own websites in their Yellow Pages advertisements. Both facilities were recommended by their insurance company. With his laptop in the hotel room, the husband connects to the internet to visit both businesses online. Both sites are neatly laid out with explanations of their services, the qualified mechanics, a brief business history, and a map to their garage. One is a half mile away; the other is across town. The closer one happened to be the one recommended by the hotel concierge.

That next morning, the husband calls the nearby garage, the car is brought in, and the repair is completed by the following day. When the mechanic asks, “How did you hear about us?” the husband casually replies, “Oh, I saw your ad in the phone book.” Clearly, several factors were involved in the decision-making process—including the Yellow Pages advertisement. But the website was vital in their making a final decision.

So, as you consider how to promote your business, don’t forsake print advertising. But consider how it can work alongside a website to promote your business locally and worldwide.

Tom Urbanowicz is the owner of DataDesignIT, helping businesses operate efficiently and communicate effectively. Tom can be reached at tom@datadesignit.com or at 530.513.1691.