For years it’s pointed consumers to local handymen, builders and businesses but now Yell.com is to start hosting thousands of videos showing how to solve problems on their own. Yell Group’s online directory has signed a content deal with how-to video publisher VideoJug to add relevant DIY vids in users’ search results as well as store them on a dedicated Yell.com channel. So if you’re after a plumber, you’ll be offered video tips on how to unblock your own sink. Release.
The company says in its release it simply wants to help users “make better, more informed buying decisions,” and says this will be the first of many content deals. But it might not be welcome news for paying local business customers if the site’s 10.7 million unique monthly users are encouraged to fend for themselves rather than hire an expert. Yell.com points out that it runs a — entirely separate — video advertising programme for its 217,000 business customers: they can pay for custom-made clips or add their own. But while the site’s revenue has been growing this year, the number of advertisers hasn’t grown since February.
As for VideoJug, which lost CEO Nancy Cruickshank to Telegraph Media Group in March, this is the latest syndication deal after it inked several agreements last year with the likes of Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) WikiHow, Kontraband, WonderHowTo and Tiscali.

Comments have been disabled for this post