Too many businesses have no idea how well their Yellow Pages ads are working, or even if they're working. But the simple truth is that most businesses could be generating more business, if they only stopped breaking the Ten Commandments of Yellow Pages advertising.

First Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Whip It Up.
Many Yellow Page ads are whipped up in the few minutes the sales rep has left after trying to sell you a bigger ad. Ask - no, insist - that your directory publishers develop an ad for you that justifies the cost. If they can't or won't, have the ad produced yourself.

Second Commandment: Honor Thy Headlines.
The first piece of ad copy that readers see - the headline - has to be powerful enough to drag them away from all those competing ads. Never use your company name as your headline unless it really is that powerful, or it really is the most important selling copy in the ad.

Third Commandment: Honor Thy Illustration.
Nothing can turn a mediocre Yellow Pages ad into a great one faster than the right illustration. If your picture isn't worth a thousand words, find one that is.

Fourth Commandment: Remember Who You Are.
You have to include all the hard, factual information potential customers need to make a decision to call: be it about image, market niche, expertise, specialties, additional services, pricing, quality, speed, financing - whatever it might be. But at the same time, you have to differentiate yourself from all of the other ads. Never forget the key question: Why should someone call you instead of the gigantic full page color ad at the front of the heading?