As the Editorial Director at YP/AT&T Interactive, my goal was to rise above the noise of other local review sites — and to bring the Yellow Pages into the new millennium.

Along with countering the misconception that YP.com, the online evolution of AT&T’s Yellow Pages, was just a digital doorstop filled with numbers for plumbers and pizza delivery, I also had to differentiate YP’s content from its competitors. So I chose to take the high road and focus on quality and accountability, not on quantity and anonymity. In the age of fake reviews and monologuing Yelpers, consumers deserve qualified, vetted recommendations. And that’s what we gave them.

During my time at YP, I launched an initiative to interview celebs, star chefs, experts, and influencers for their business recommendations and personal tips: Wolfgang Puck’s favorite restaurants, HGTV stars’ go-to pros and home stores, Suze Orman’s tips on finding a good financial planner, Eva Longoria’s efforts to empower minority women business owners, etc.

My team interviewed hundreds of influencers, covering thousands of businesses in total. Each interview and article was promoted via related local business listings or syndication channels, and many were promoted via influencers’ social channels. The program generated 10,000,000+ brand impressions and helped increase organic search traffic more than 25% in key business categories. In the carousel, you can a selection of articles my team produced to boost repeat engagement, socialization, and SEO for a range of YP’s lifestyle and service categories.