This is something I've had a few discussions about recently.
A couple of points that might help you decide:
It's worth noting that
local search is on the rise - massively (using Google and other search engines). A large part of that is being driven by a huge increase in mobile search, which by its very nature is typically local. Google is also reducing the importance of directories like the Yellow Pages and TrueLocal in its search algorithms because users are increasingly preferring Google's own local search.
I was approached by TrueLocal recently after placing a free local ad for our services. They wanted me to spend $280 per month on a premium listing for the #2 spot in our industry for the entire of the Sunshine Coast and another $250 per month to have the entire of Brisbane in a non-premium listing.
I asked about the volume of ad impressions and the click-through rates that these searches would be likely to achieve.
The data they gave me back was 3,000 ad impressions per month. To date, they've totally avoided any question which involves click-through rates.
Looking at it objectively however, this is not remotely a wise investment unless I have absolutely no other way to generate traffic.
Although the impressions are going to be somewhat relevant to the user's search (they also didn't tell me what specific search terms would display my ad, so I can't effectively gauge the relevance) I'd be extremely lucky to get a 10% click-through rate - the average for sponsored results can be lower than 1%.
Considering they've been very reluctant to give me the clickthrough rate, I'll be generous and say it's 5%.
So that's just 150 visits to my site per month and only if my listing is fairly broad - i.e. not targeted to one very specific niche in my industry.
If I'd spent that money on AdWords instead, I could target terms that are more indicative of a readiness to purchase, rather than just tyre kickers:
E.g.: 'joomla trainer Sunshine Coast' is a search term that is much closer to the 'purchase' phase of a searching cycle than 'web designers'.
If I pay for the first term on AdWords, it'll come up fair rarely (the traffic estimator says 'never') but if it does, I'll have a very specific niche searcher who's almost certainly ready to pay for training. And I might have paid as little as $0.05c total for that particular term.
'Web designers' however has over 22,000 local searches a month at a cost of $5 a click. That term is just as likely to be indicative of tyre-kickers - it's not very targeted.
So getting back to TrueLocal (and by extension, the Yellow Pages), while users of that site are generally going to be searching for a service, there's not really a way to separate the wheat from the chaff with regards to informational vs. purchasing searches.
The only way to get specific is to ensure your ad is very niche: i.e., you're a plumber, but your ad focuses purely on unclogging drains 24/7 with a one-hour callout.
So you miss all the other plumbing-related jobs, but every click-through will be highly targeted to this one nice and therefore much more likely to convert to a sale.
For my money, this is why I prefer search marketing. I can setup a variety of landing pages on my that focus on different areas that my business (or my clients business) covers. Match that with some enticing ad copy for groups of very specific keywords.
I get less traffic to my site, but it's more specific, qualified traffic - and much more likely to purchase. Plus, through custom landing pages I can give them a targeted pitch with a strong call-to-action associated closely with their search.
I don't care about the volume of impressions or even the volume of clicks.
Those metrics are utterly worthless when taken alone as a measure of value.
The more specific your ad is to what people are searching for, the better qualified your traffic will be - and hence more likely to purchase.
So your decision may come down to one of specificity
- how broad will your ad be?
- How qualified will your visitors be through that ad?
- What will your clickthrough rate be?
- More importantly, your conversion rate?
Without knowing your industry, it's impossible even to guess. Perhaps you're in an area that's super-simple and almost any enquiry from YP or TL would result in a sale.
But the time has long passed when the Yellow Pages or TrueLocal were an essential tool for generating new business - it can be, but there are other really excellent options out there that will work much more effectively for many, many businesses.
Yellow Pages - Online / Book 
