Organic Search: Implement SEO and Stop Deforestation 

Posted By Jehanne Bowen on 01/28/2010

Recently my office received 250 printed copies of the Yellow Pages. My first thought was, “How much deforestation is created by just this pile of printed directories that we don’t use?” And secondly, “Why are business still advertising in them when they could use SEO (search engine optimization) instead?”

Since I have not used a printed directory in about five years, I decided to do a bit of research into the paper waste caused by the likes of Yellow Book and Dex Knows. In the United States alone, Yellow Book claims to print 129 million copies a year. If you figure that one tree makes 96,000 pages per 128 cubic feet, and one phone book has 500 double pages, then an average tree can create 384 directories. So for Yellow Pages alone, 335,938 trees are cut down. Approximately Taking other printed directories into account, over 10 million trees per year are destroyed.

I ran my own online survey for two weeks to compare printed directory use with search engine use. The results were astounding. Only 20% of recipients reported that they use a printed directory. Even more surprising is the response to “When searching for a phone number or business address, where do you look?”

• 0% said a printed business directory
• 10% said an online business directory
• 90% said Search Engines

So even though 20% reported they use directories, they don’t seem to be using them to look up phone numbers. It seems that most printed directories go directly to recycling or the trash can, adding to deforestation and paper waste, not to mention the energy, ink, and oil used to produce them. National Geographic has called deforestation our “Modern-Day Plague,” fueling climate change and natural habitat loss.

With printed directories practically obsolete, why not engage people in the place where they go for information: search engines? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a method of Web site development that allows search engines to analyze, discover, and reference your Web site so that search users can easily find you. With 91 million searches on Google per day, SEO is critical in the development and maintenance of your site.

There are a handful of sound reasons why your business should rather invest in SEO, and in this market, where it seems that ad budgets are cut daily, it makes sense to spend money where your ROI is 100% trackable. White Horse has proven best practices for site SEO including designing and building according to user preferences and usability, and managing and updating Web copy on a regular basis. We make it look easy to place your site on the first page of Google.

To better meet your client needs and to help reduce deforestation and carbon emissions, and control climate change, stop investing in phone books and help customers find you through search. It’s likely you’ll get better leads if you adjust your channel allocation to measurable venues that your customers actually use. To learn more about SEO for your business, contact our sales department.

And if you’d like to opt-out of phone book delivery, contact your local provider and tell them so.

Tags: Organic Search, Paid Search