Does Yext Local Listing Boost Local SEO?

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What is Yext?

Yext is a Software-as-a-Service company that helps local businesses improve their online presence. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in San Francisco. It’s a tool designed to manage location-related business information across multiple directories.
Yext helps you to maintain NAP consistency which in turn helps to get a boost in Local SEO.
One can use Yext to manage business information across sites like Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps. The platform also helps businesses and organizations communicate with customers and prospects to improve customer relations.
According to sources, Yext has over 200,000 businesses utilizing their business information management products.

Benefits of Using Yext

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1. Save Time

Yext Local Listing Management Tool (LMT) saves your time by automating creating listings on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines. It also notifies business owners when changes are made to their data to update their information without logging in to individual websites or apps.
This saves small businesses the time to check their listings or report incorrect data themselves constantly. For instance, if a business changes its operating hours, it need not go to each listing to change it, but rather just update in Yext.
Small businesses may spend a lot of time searching for various listings and managing them daily rather than focusing on other aspects of the business.

2. Real-time Synchronization

Listing management is not an easy task. With several dozens of directories out there, it is a time-consuming job to manage your listings. This is where Yext comes in.
Once you link authorize Yext, it will update your listings on your behalf. The platform uses a Knowledge Graph feature, wherein any update will be heard and delivered to all publishers, aka directories, for a quick reflection.

Importance of Local Listings for Local SEO

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1. More Traffic and Phone Calls

What is the number one question small business owners ask themselves when starting a new website?
"How to get more traffic?"
A website without traffic is just another brick in the digital world. One way to bring in traffic is by submitting your website to local directories, which will show it in search results for "Near Me."
Local directories are a great way to advertise your business online but are often overlooked.
Businesses are often tempted to try the latest social networking site or invest in an expensive Google ads campaign. However, these tactics might not be the best option for every business because they take time and money to do right.
The quickest and cheapest way to get more traffic and phone calls is by submitting your business to local directories.
Several high-quality local directories, Superpages, Yelp, Angilist, Foursquare, and many more, increase business presence and send additional information to search engines about the business.
The listings on these directories are usually free, but make sure you edit them accordingly to keep up with any changes or new information.
Tips:

• Always claim your listings
• Make sure to fill in all form fields while listing your site
• Upload photos and videos of your business
• Encourage customers to leave reviews

2. Increase Your Brand Awareness

Today, it is more important than ever for businesses to control their online presence actively. Business listings on local directories are valuable for companies to reach new customers and stay top-of-mind with existing ones.
By offering valuable information about your business, you can reach potential customers who might not otherwise know about your company. This way, you can ensure that your business is found by people in the area, even if they aren't already looking for you.
Adding your business listing with online directories such as Yelp increases the chances of ranking highly on search engines, bringing more visitors, and encouraging customers to leave reviews.
Take a look at the below screenshot.
When a local search is done, Google ranks the business directory right below the local 3-pack to help the user with the most relevant information. It increases the chances of connecting potential customers with the right businesses listed on directories.
Listings often have details such as directions hours of operation (for restaurants and stores). These features, when used well, will help your business stand out on these sites.
The more accurate and well-optimized your listing is, the better it will appear on directories, increasing brand awareness.
Tips:

• Consider paying a premium to make your listing appear atop results within a directory
• Focus on getting rave reviews on local listings to get featured on the homepage (Yelp, for example)
• Add as many relevant attributes as possible to your listing for more visibility

3. More Backlinks to Your Site

Sometimes, the smallest changes make the most significant impact on Local SEO. One easy way to get your business to rank higher is by listing your business on local directories like Yelp.
When you do this, you will get backlinks to your website that will help increase your ranking. This is because these directories will link back to your site, which enhances your reputation and brings more traffic to it.
Below is an example of a business receiving a backlink from Yelp, which is considered high quality by the search engines.
Not only will your business show up on the directory, but it will also show up in any search engine that indexes that directory.
For instance, if you register your small business with Yelp and put your website address on their website, not only will Yelp list the address for your company, it will also index it in their site's algorithm.
The links from these directories provide a higher authority when compared to links from other sources.
Three Best Backlink Checkers

• Ahrefs - It claims to be the second most active web crawler next to Google
• Small SEO Tools - A free tool to monitor backlinks for a specific domain
• SEMRush - It is promoted as the largest and most up-to-date free backlink checker

4. Gives an Edge Over Competitors

Running a business is a daunting task. There are many aspects to consider and things to do, but there's no telling what might help your company succeed. When you're first starting, it can be an uphill battle with little to no hope along the way.
One little thing that might make a big difference as you start as a new business is having your information listed on local directories. Because many local businesses underuse directories, it is an excellent chance for you to stay ahead of them.
This is because the more people know about your business, the more likely they are to buy from you. Hypothetically, if one company has more featured listings than another, it suggests that you have the edge over the one that has fewer listings.
Tips To Stand Out From The Rest:

• Update your listings periodically
• Consider using a local listing management tool
• Always respond to reviews
• Upload calendars, team bios, and the like to make your listing complete
• Add promotional links to your listings

5. Understand Your Customers Better

What if you want to know how customers feel about your business?
Well, reviews can give you some insight into what customers think about your business, whether it's good or bad. Reviews about your business are quick and easy to access on sites like Yelp, Google, or Facebook.
Every review is a testament to your customer service skills. Knowing the kind of reviews you get and how customers perceive your business help you improve your business practices. Local listings provide customers a platform to leave their reviews.
By reading reviews on your listing, you can see what people love and dislike. You can also message customers who left feedback.
For example, a restaurant might ask customers why they thought it was too expensive or look for something more casual. This will help the company understand what needs to be changed and improve its offerings.
Three Best Review Management Tools

• Endorsal - A tool being used by more than 5,775 businesses
• Podium - A tool for locally-focused businesses to manage multi-listing reviews across the web
• BirdEye - A one-stop platform for review collection and lead conversion

6. Rank Higher on Search Results

Google has always been in the business of providing people with the best results for whatever they are looking for.
Many important factors go into ranking a site higher on search engine results pages, such as having a robust social media presence, incorporating Schema markup into your website, or including keywords in your content.
However, many people forget about including local listings with directories like Yelp and Google My Business. Search engines often use these directories to ascertain which sites have accurate information and help your page rank higher.
The number of reviews is also one factor that affects how high you rank on Google or other search engines.
Take a look at the screenshot. Google has ranked businesses based on the number of reviews on the GMB listing.
So, local listings are an essential part of getting reviews, which, in turn, help you improve your rank on the internet.

Tips To Rank Higher On Google:

• Use Schema markup
• Optimize your Google My Business profile and add subcategories
• Ensure NAP consistency
• Optimize content with keywords
• Fix broken links and optimize images
• Earn quality backlinks

Step-by-Step Process to Sign up in Yext Listing

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Step 1: Visit this page and select your business type. Fill in your business details and click "Scan My Listings."
Step 2: Verify your business information
Step 3: Fill in your name and email address and click "Get My Listings Scan"
Step 4: Go through the scan results and click "Fix All Errors"
Step 5: Verify your Business Name, Address, Phone Number, and Status across various platforms such as Yelp, Bing, SuperPages, and so on.

Step-by-Step Process to Submit & Manage Your Listing in Yext

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Step 1: Go to the Location Manager tab and enter your Business Name, categories, and Address.
Step 2: Uncheck fields that you don't want to apply. You can also edit them.
Step 3: Add a business phone number
Step 4: Look for duplicate listings by clicking the "View Listing" option beside each listing
Step 5: Click "Suppress Listing" if you find any duplicate(s)

Yext & SEO - FAQs

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Q1. Does Yext Help You With SEO?

A high-quality business listing displaying correct information will surely help your SEO efforts. Keep in mind that the quality of the directory also matters for search engines.

Q2. How Does Yext Work?

Yext works on your behalf and automatically audits and updates your listings across directories.

Q3. What Are The Benefits Of Using Yext?

With Yext, you can customize your online listings with features such as pictures, logo, hours of operation, etc. You also get quality backlinks from the listing sites.

Q4. Is There A Drawback Associated With Yext?

Say that you don't renew your contract with Yext. You will lose all customized features.

Q5. Is Yext A Helpful Tool?

It depends on the number of locations you manage. Say that your business serves more than 50 locations; it is wise to use a tool like Yext.

Key Takeaways:

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• Use a listing management tool to save time.
• Local listings will get you more phone calls and customer walk-ins
• Improve your brand awareness by listing your business on renowned directories
• Get backlinks by claiming your business across directories
• Upload team bios and calendar to make your listings complete
• Respond to reviews
• A reputation management tool will come in handy for responding to reviews.