SuperPages Rolls Out Pay-Per-Call

Verizon SuperPages.com has unveiled a new pay-per-call offering, and is calling the product a “huge” component of its local and national sales strategy for online marketing products.

The offering, dubbed “Pay For Calls,” works in a fashion similar to other pay-per-call services in the market. It applies a dedicated toll-free or local telephone number to each ad. The number rings through to the advertiser’s regular phone line.

Local marketers will pay from $2 to $6 per qualified call, depending on the business category. The company estimates 80 percent of its small business advertisers will be interested in the product.

The company will begin selling the service in September. Advertisers need not have a Web site set up to use it.

“Our years of experience creating ads that drive phone calls will translate into strong campaigns for Pay For Calls customers,” said SuperPages.com President Scott Laver in a statement.

Because of its direct sales relationships with regional and national businesses, SuperPages.com and other IYPs have a distinct leg up over independent pay-per-call vendors, which face the daunting challenge of developing mindshare with local businesses.

SuperPages is focusing a great deal of attention now on enhancing its appeal to local marketers. Last month, the company said it had begun placing campaigns with Google and Yahoo on behalf of its small to mid-sized business clients.