How To Use Yext Listings To Drive Local Business Growth

Yext Listings ensures accurate business information appears across search engines, directory websites, and AI-powered search tools. With automated updates, businesses avoid outdated listings that hurt local search rankings and customer trust.

This guide breaks down how Yext Listings works, its latest features, and how to integrate it into a client strategy for better local SEO and business visibility.

So, let's delve into the world of Yext, where listings are streamlined and client management is simplified.

What Is Yext, Exactly?

Yext is a cloud-based platform designed to manage and optimize a business's presence across online directories, review sites, social networks, and search engines. Think of it as a central command center where you update, monitor, and manage information about your client's business on multiple platforms, including online listings.

How Does Yext Work?

Yext operates on a simple principle: update once, reflect everywhere. When you change a business listing using Yext, such as altering business hours, updating an address, or adding a service, the platform disperses this information across all connected directories and review sites.

Yext Listings automatically syncs updates in real time, ensuring accuracy and visibility across platforms. This reduces the risk of outdated or inconsistent information appearing in different places.

Features of Yext Listings

• AI-Driven Updates: Uses automation to detect outdated or inconsistent information and suggests corrections to insure accurate information is available.

• Expanded Network: Syncs with platforms like Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Amazon Alexa, and TikTok.

• Industry-Specific Directories: Supports listings on platforms like Zocdoc (healthcare), OpenTable (restaurants), and other niche directories.

• Duplicate Management: Identifies and suppresses duplicate listings to maintain accuracy.

• Analytics & Insights: Tracks engagement metrics such as profile views, clicks-to-call, and direction requests.

By keeping listings accurate and up to date, Yext Listings helps businesses maintain search visibility while improving customer experience.

What Happened to Yext PowerListings?

PowerListings was once a key feature of Yext, and if you dig deep enough, you can still find some residual aspects of the feature on the Yext website. Designed to sync business information across multiple directories in real time. Yext no longer markets PowerListings as a separate product. The functionality was merged into Yext Listings, which now uses AI-driven updates, expanded integrations, and automated accuracy checks.

Why Was PowerListings Phased Out?

• Unified Product Strategy: Yext consolidated its tools into a single Listings platform instead of maintaining separate features.

• AI & Automation Enhancements: PowerListings originally required more manual oversight, whereas the current Yext Listings product leverages AI to detect and fix inconsistencies automatically.

• Expanded Partner Network: The original PowerListings primarily focused on major directories, while today's Yext Listings covers AI-powered search engines, voice assistants, and industry-specific platforms.

Most businesses that previously relied on PowerListings now use Yext Listings, which offers the same core capabilities with additional automation and a broader network of supported platforms.

The Importance of Managing Business Listings

Business listings act as digital storefronts, providing essential details such as a business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and services offered.

Accurate listings improve local SEO rankings, making businesses more likely to appear in search results. Search engines prioritize businesses with consistent information across directories, so maintaining accuracy directly impacts online visibility.

Beyond search rankings, incorrect information can frustrate potential customers. Outdated hours, wrong addresses, or missing details lead to lost sales and negative customer experiences. Managing listings in real time helps businesses stay competitive and trustworthy.

Hence, managing business listings is not just about visibility or SEO; it's about maintaining a positive customer experience, increasing customer engagement, and directly influencing the bottom line of your client's business. It's a task that demands diligence, accuracy, and consistency. The better the listings are managed, the brighter the businesses shine in the digital universe.

Managing Listings in Yext

Keeping directory listings up to date is essential for businesses that rely on local search traffic. Inconsistent or outdated details across directory websites can lead to missed opportunities, frustrated customers, and lower search rankings. The Yext platform simplifies this process by centralizing updates, ensuring accurate business information appears across search engines, social networks, and industry-specific platforms.

For a marketing agency managing multiple clients, handling local listings manually across dozens of platforms can be overwhelming. Yext automates updates, detects inconsistencies, and syncs data in real time, reducing errors and improving visibility. The next sections cover how to set up, update, and monitor directory listings using Yext.

Setting Up a Business in Yext

To get started, a business profile is created within Yext, including essential details such as name, category, contact information, and business hours. Yext scans existing listings for inconsistencies and syncs the correct information across its network.

Updating Listings

Changes made in Yext—such as new hours, updated addresses, or additional services—automatically reflect on all connected directories. AI-powered monitoring flags discrepancies and provides real-time alerts for necessary updates.

Monitoring Performance

Engagement analytics provide insights into how customers interact with listings. Metrics include:

• Search Impressions: How often a business appears in search results

• Clicks-to-Call: Number of phone calls generated from a listing

• Website Clicks: How many users visit the business website from the listing

• Direction Requests: How often customers use the map feature to get to a location

Yext Reviews and Reputation Management

Customer feedback plays a major role in business credibility. Yext Reviews consolidates reviews from platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook into a single dashboard for easy monitoring and response management.

• AI-Suggested Replies: Generates personalized responses to customer reviews.

• Sentiment Analysis: Identifies trends in customer feedback to inform business decisions.

• Review Generation: Encourages satisfied customers to leave positive reviews through automated requests.

Consistently responding to reviews builds trust and strengthens local search rankings.

The SEO Benefits of Yext Listings

Search engine optimization (SEO) boosts visibility, and Yext is a proven tool that supercharges this process. While Yext primarily manages business listings, its implications for SEO are profound.

Listings management directly impacts search engine rankings. Businesses with complete, consistent information perform better in local search results.

Local SEO Signals Boosted by Yext Listings

• NAP Consistency: Ensures name, address, and phone number match across directories.

• Keyword Optimization: Enhances business descriptions with relevant keywords.

• Voice Search Readiness: Ensures listings are optimized for voice assistants like Alexa and Siri.

Which means that, listings that follow SEO best practices improve visibility in "near me" searches and increase foot traffic to physical locations.

The SEO Implications of Accurate Listings

Let's start with the basics. Search engines prioritize accuracy and consistency. Every time Yext corrects one of your client's business information across platforms, it sends positive signals to search engines. It's a bit like getting a gold star from a teacher–each gold star (accurate listing) improves your client's reputation and standing in the eyes of search engines.

Yext and Local SEO

Yext shines exceptionally in the area of local SEO. Local SEO is about making your clients visible to customers in their vicinity. When people search for products or services 'near me,' you want your clients to be the first ones to show up, right?

Yext makes this possible by ensuring that all local business listings are accurate and consistent. So, when someone searches in your client's area, their accurate business information is readily available, increasing their chances of appearing in local search results.

Reviews, Ratings, and SEO

Customer reviews and ratings significantly impact SEO. Yext makes managing and responding to reviews across various platforms easy, a crucial factor in SEO ranking. A business that actively manages and responds to its reviews appears more credible and customer-centric, boosting its SEO performance.

Leveraging Yext for SEO is like equipping your clients with a high-powered, precision-guided digital visibility rocket. It ensures your clients are present online, visible, and easily discoverable by potential customers. So, whether it's global or local SEO, Yext has got it covered.

Popular Yext Features to Maximize Client Performance

Just when you thought Yext couldn't get any better, it presents you with impressive features. Each tool adds an extra layer of functionality to Yext, making it an even more comprehensive solution for managing your clients' business listings. Let's get to know these stars of the show.

Yext Chat

Conversations are the lifeblood of businesses. Enter Yext Chat—an interactive tool that facilitates real-time conversations between businesses and their potential customers. It's more than just a chatbot; it's a lead generator that keeps the conversations going even when the business is closed.

Yext Search

Yext Search transforms your client's website into a search engine, allowing potential customers to quickly find what they're looking for. Whether they search for a product, a service, or an office location, Yext Search fetches the results in a snap, offering a seamless user experience.

Listing Scan Tool

The Listing Scan Tool is like a health check-up for your client's business listings. Before syncing updates, Yext scans existing listings to identify inconsistencies across platforms. It scans all connected sites and platforms, identifies inaccuracies or inconsistencies, and corrects them. It's like a dedicated doctor for your client's digital health.

Integrated Call Tracking

Integrating call tracking provides an additional layer of insights and analytics based on the phone calls generated from your clients' business listings. For businesses needing call tracking, Yext has direct integrations with third-party solutions like Google and CallRail to measure engagement from listings.

By keeping count of these calls, it measures the engagement level of customers who find your client's contact information online. It's like having a secret counter that ticks every time a potential customer dials in.

Driving Directions

What good is a business if its customers can't locate it? Yext's Driving Directions feature makes sure that never happens.

It counts how often people use the 'Directions' feature in your clients' business listings. This handy feature guides the customers straight to your client's doorstep, ensuring they never lose their way.

Yext Website Clicks

Website Clicks in Yext are a measure of curiosity–the number of times users click on your client's website link in their business listings.

More clicks mean more interest, leading to higher engagement and potential conversions. With Yext tracking these clicks, you have a clear picture of how enticing the business listing is to digital onlookers.

Other Popular Features

A few other Yext features also deserve an honorable mention:

• Duplicate Suppression: Yext Listings includes AI-powered duplicate detection, automatically identifying and resolving duplicate listings to maintain accuracy.

• Social Media Integration: Yext integrates with social media platforms, allowing businesses to manage their social media presence alongside their business listings.

• Analytics: Yext provides comprehensive analytics about listing performance, customer engagement, and more. It's like having a crystal ball that reveals the story behind the numbers.

These features are not just the icing on the cake; they are like a whole other delicious layer. When harnessed correctly, they can amplify the effectiveness of Yext, providing an enhanced experience for businesses and their customers. It's about doing more with less and doing it effectively and efficiently. Yext makes it possible.

The Nuts and Bolts of Yext

To become a Yext power user, it's essential to understand its workings and functionalities. Let's dive into the nuts and bolts of Yext, starting with setting up a client account and navigating the dashboard, then moving to managing listings and ensuring accuracy.

Setting Up a Yext Account for a Client

Getting started with Yext is as simple as it gets. To set up an account for a client, visit the Yext website and sign up with your client's business information. 

The process includes entering essential details like business name, location, contact information, and business category.

Once the account is set up, you can add the business's online directories and review sites to Yext. The platform then scans these sites to get an initial understanding of the business's current online presence.

If you are setting up multiple client accounts at the same time, use the “Add Users in Bulk” function to streamline this process. 

Understanding the Yext Dashboard

The Yext dashboard is your command center. Here, you'll find an overview of your client's listings, any inconsistencies detected, and the listings' performance across various sites.

You'll also see tabs on the dashboard for different sections like Listings, Reviews, and Analytics. These tabs allow you to manage listings, respond to reviews, and analyze the performance of the listings, respectively.

How to Add a Business Listing in Yext

Adding a business listing in Yext is straightforward. Under the Listings tab, you'll find an option to 'Add Listing.' Clicking on it will prompt you to enter the business information. Remember, accuracy is crucial here.

Once the information is entered, Yext will populate this data to all the connected directories and review sites. Yes, it's that simple!

Managing and Updating Listings on Yext

Under the same Listings tab, you can manage and update your client's listings. 

Whether you want to change the business hours or update the service list, it can be done with a few clicks. And thanks to Powerlistings, any changes are instantly reflected on all connected sites.

Ensuring Accuracy and Consistency in Listings

Yext continuously scans all connected sites for any inconsistencies in the listings. If it finds any discrepancies, it automatically corrects them. However, as a best practice, it's wise to periodically review the listings manually for absolute accuracy.

In summary, Yext simplifies managing your client's digital presence. With its intuitive interface, real-time updates, and vigilant monitoring, Yext ensures your clients' business listings are accurate, consistent, and optimized for maximum visibility. The nuts and bolts of Yext work together, providing an easy and efficient way to manage online business listings.

Important Yext Metrics to Track

While Yext diligently takes care of your clients' business listings, keeping a close eye on various metrics is essential. These numbers tell the story of how your clients' listings perform, the customer engagement level, and more. Here's the rundown of critical Yext metrics to track:

Review Analytics

The power of customer reviews is undeniable. Review analytics provide insights into customer sentiment, engagement, and overall perception of your clients' businesses.

• Review Count: This is the total number of reviews your clients' businesses have received across all platforms. An increase in review count indicates growing customer engagement.

• Average Rating: This metric gives a snapshot of how customers rate your clients' businesses on a scale. Higher ratings typically mean more customer satisfaction.

• Review Content: Analyzing the content of reviews provides insights into what customers like or dislike about your clients' businesses.

• Review Comments: This is your client's responses to the reviews. It's essential to track this to ensure timely and appropriate responses.

• New Reviews Received Daily: This metric tells you how many new reviews your clients' businesses get daily.

Use the Yext dashboard template to quickly and easily report these key metrics to clients. Try AgencyAnalytics free for 14 days. 

Search & Discovery Analytics

These metrics reveal how often your clients' businesses are found online and the terms used to discover them.

• Searches: This is the total number of times your clients' businesses appeared in search results.

• Search Term Impressions: This shows the phrases or keywords customers use to discover your clients' businesses.

• Listing Impressions: This is the total number of times your clients' listings were displayed on various platforms.

• Listing Views: This counts how often users viewed your clients' listings in detail.

Easily display Yext reach metrics in a visually appealing dashboard. Start your Free Trial today!

Engagement Analytics

Engagement analytics measure how customers interact with your clients' listings and what actions they take.

• Calls: This is the number of phone calls generated from the listings.

• Driving Directions: This counts how often people use the 'Directions' feature on listings to navigate to your clients' businesses.

• Website Clicks: This measures how often users click on the website link in your clients' listings.

Clearly demonstrate how potential customers are engaging with your client’s listings. Use this exact dashboard to get started in minutes! 

Demographics

Understanding the customer demographics helps tailor the business offerings and marketing strategy more effectively.

• Age: This tells you the age group of people engaging with your clients' listings.

• Gender: This shows the gender distribution of the audience interacting with the listings.

• Devices: This metric reveals the types of devices (mobile, desktop, tablet) people use to view and interact with the listings.

In a nutshell, tracking these metrics helps you understand the performance of your clients' listings, the effectiveness of their digital presence, and the customer engagement level. It's like having a compass that guides your efforts and helps you improve your client's online visibility and customer interactions.

Understanding the audience provides increased opportunities to optimize your client’s Yext listings. 

Simply Client Reporting With the AgencyAnalytics Integration

Keeping tabs on numerous metrics across multiple clients can sometimes feel like juggling with one hand tied behind your back. Enter the AgencyAnalytics Yext integration, a simple solution that streamlines Yext reporting and makes life a little easier.

AgencyAnalytics is a reporting platform designed for agencies managing multiple clients. When integrated with Yext, it fetches all the Yext data for your clients and presents it in a user-friendly, easy-to-understand format. Imagine it as a personal assistant that gathers all the information and hands it to you on a silver platter.

Setting Up AgencyAnalytics Integration

Setting up the integration is a breeze. You just need to add Yext as an integration within your AgencyAnalytics account, and voila! All your clients' Yext data flows seamlessly into AgencyAnalytics, ready to be viewed, analyzed, and reported.

First, navigate to the client where you want to connect the Yext integration, then click "Integrations" from the menu on the left side of the screen.

Next, select Yext from the over 80 platform integrations available. And don’t worry, as with all of our platform integrations, there is no additional cost for adding Yext. 

Then simply click on Connect New Account and follow the instructions to start pulling Yext data into your client reporting platform automatically. 

Within seconds, the integration is complete, and your client's Yext metrics are imported, updated in real time, and displayed within the reporting dashboard.

Benefits of the AgencyAnalytics Integration

The AgencyAnalytics integration is a time-saver and a stress-buster. Here are a few reasons why it's a game-changer:

• Automated Reporting: No more manual data pulling or spreadsheet wrestling. AgencyAnalytics automatically generates client reports and client dashboards, giving you more time to focus on strategy and less on number crunching.

• Multi-client Dashboard: A single dashboard to manage all your clients. Now that's efficiency redefined!

• Customizable Reports: Use the drag-and-drop report builder to tailor the reports as per your needs. Choose what data to include, how to present it, and who to share it with. It's as flexible as a yoga master.

• Scheduled Reports: Set a schedule, and AgencyAnalytics will send the reports to your chosen recipients right on time, every time.

• White-labeling: Want to make the reports truly yours? Add your branding to the reports and impress your clients.

In summary, the AgencyAnalytics Yext integration simplifies reporting, improves efficiency, and lets you manage your clients' Yext data like a pro. It's like having an extra pair of hands, making the task of handling multiple clients less daunting and more manageable.

AgencyAnalytics has changed the way that we do client reporting. It saves us time, is insanely convenient, and makes us look good. It’s been a massive win for our business.

Garrett Kite / President