Les Jones

Nifty > Open the Business Pages to Letter "A"

Melissa ran out of gas on the way to work this morning. I had just gotten dressed and still had to get the kids ready, so we decided AAA* was the best bet, but she didn't have her card with her. I picked up the phone book to find AAA's number.

Have you ever looked at the first page of the business listings in the phone book?

I knew that there were lots of companies with names like A-1-A Appliance Services there at the #1 spot. That's an old trick to place your listing at the top of your category in the yellow pages.

What surprised me is the number of alcohol and drug rehab services that use that trick. There are also some odd listings, like "Alcohaaaaaal" and further down the page "A Cocaaaaaaine Abuse-24 Hour Action Hotline." Also lots of "A Able" and "AAAA" listings. Then it hit me - they're optimizing their listings to attract people searching for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).

* Note for foreign readers: AAA is the American Automobile Association. It's one of the largest clubs in America thanks to its very useful roadside assistance program.