Local Business Listings

[kerplow]

We have about 60+ local businesses under our main brand we are hoping to manage "easily".  We are looking at these three, but unsure which will work the best:

• www.ubl.org
• localeze.com
• yext.com

Our past vendor worked with localeze, but had some problems with axicom listings. We are leaning towards Yext, but not sure what all the differences are and if we are comparing apples to apples.

Thanks!

[Smcnelley]

I have used both UBL (3 years) and Yext for about 7 months. In the beginning I saw nice results with UBL. After UBL makes initial insertion, it seems to be very passive. I am not seeing great results in the last 12 months with UBL. I think they may have become complacent. I too have seen the duplication issues. Yext really does a nice job with real time updates. Running a special promotion works very well with Yext. the reach does not seem to be as broad with Yext as UBL. We struggle with Google merging our moving company Admiral Movers, www.admiralmovers.com & our records management company Admiral Records Management, www.admiralrecordsmanagement.com. They occupy the same block, but we except mail at the main location for Movers, because we do not want anyone wandering around the records center. They are two separate corporations, separate ownership, website, phone number & employees. Right now neither is showing up on Google (formerly Google places) +. If anyone can offer advice here, we are beyond frustrated. We are currently investigating Ecinity for both businesses. I have heard some good things about the service. Also a little leery that it is a beta. I appreciate any input & guidance. Follow up on Ecinity, it is working nicely.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Kerplow,

Bede has hit the nail on the head with this:

Yext is more about listing management and control. Localeze and UBL are more about hitting upstream data providers and getting full coverage. They're best used in some sort of combination, so I don't think this is an either/or choice.

Yext's tool is about management, whereas Localeze and UBL are primarily about the creation of profiles. If management is your goal, then you'll probably want go with the Yext for that...though many Local SEOs object to the price tag.

[Anthony_NorthSEO]

Just like Bede said,

UBL = Inexpensive and quick, but can lead to some issues. It's more about posting your listing in as many places as possible, but not managing the content once it's there. Not bad at all for the money though.

YEXT = More expensive. More control. Better management of content.

If your goal is to simply get your business listed in as many places as possible to increase impressions and awareness, I'd go with UBL.

If you're looking for more of a full fledged reputation management solution that allows for each listing to be easily updated with new specials, content, images, etc, then YEXT is probably the way to go.

If you've got the money - go with both.

Mark - Got ya man. Long day here too. Old No. 7's taking care of me though.

[BedeFahey]

They're different products, and I don't think they serve the same role, so they're hard to compare.

Yext is more about listing management and control. Localeze and UBL are more about hitting upstream data providers and getting full coverage. They're best used in some sort of combination, so I don't think this is an either/or choice.

I can talk from recent experience about UBL and Yext. Less so about Localeze because I've never used the enhanced listings product. Maybe someone else can chime in on that one.

The results we have seen with UBL have been mixed. Initially we were happy with the service. Although we found that it tended to create some duplicates if we weren't incredibly careful, the distribution was good. Recently (the past 6 months) we've seen more duplicates happen due to UBL, and in some cases data doesn't appear to have been distributed at all. This is only my own experience, though, so perhaps I ran into issues that don't normally happen.

Yext was nice to use, and I think it's valuable in that it's offering rapid access and changes via what they describe as a custom API.  It's much easier to update data quickly, and it seems to have a pretty solid selection. On the flip side, it's expensive for small businesses, and, again, doesn't hit the upstream data providers.

(also, recent review on Yext by Mike Blumenthal here: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/03/01/yext-local-seo/)

I've only ever used Localeze to ensure the upstream data is accurate and to avoid duplicates. At the very least, I think you have to involve the regular version in order to get the data consistent.

So, personally, I'd deal with the upstream data from Localeze and infogroup etc. manually, wait for it all to settle out, and then consider Yext as a way to manage some of the major portals.

Hope this helps.

[Mark_Jay_Apsey_Jr.]

Not sure I understand the question. Must have had too much to drink tonight.

Yext is the easiest an the most relaible. All three are worth working with? Did I miss something?

show me the love on the thumbs up....been a long day.