Yext vs Localeze vs UBL for Local SEO

[nicole.healthline]

Which of these services is the best? Does anyone have experience with all three?

[ScottImageWorks]

We've used all of these. I must say....YEXT scares me sometimes....I'm not sure why...but kinda like how YP.com scares me. We are a partner with YEXT and Localeze....and I worry about dupes/overlaps between the two trying to figure out which content to use. Anyone else use the two together and have any concerns?

I think WhiteSpark is also a great tool....

Thanks for the insight! Great stuff.

[Paul-Paquin-Golden-Financial]

Hello everyone at Moz!  I wanted to add some new information that I found.

Yesterday I commented here that you should not use a service like Yext because it seems overpriced, for something you can do on  your own.  Some sites like foursquare.com do charge a fee.  Other sites like local.com, make it very hard to add your business.  Local.com continues to redirect me to Yext. I will say that Yext does provide you a good report showing what directories have your site listed.  From there you can go on your own and work to add your site to all the directories.

I still think Yext is overpriced and it is better to do the service on your own.  Hire one of your marketers to spend a few days working on this.  At least this way you can be sure that all descriptions and information is unique.

[Paul-Paquin-Golden-Financial]

I just found out that to get listed with CitySearch, you must go through this link.  http://www.expressupdate.com

It is still free.

CitySearch partners with InfoUSA and they offer this free expressupdate to get added to CitySearch.

[sanctuarymedia]

I've used all three. Here is my opinion.

Yext is over priced but does give you nice control over you listings. You just need need to weigh if the cost is worth the eyeballs that will ultimately find you on these secondary sites. That answer will be different for everyone.

Localeze is the #1 data distributor in the U.S. and they can help you build a solid core of citations. But to get an enhanced listing with categories, logo, description, etc. it will cost you $300/yr. unless you're part of their partner program. ($3500/yr. entry fee) Definitely worth it if you are doing a large volume of client submissions. NOTE: Localeze along with Yelp provides data to Apple Maps which will be important in the future. If you have a lot of locations, manually claiming on Yelp is going to be a lot of work. With Localeze they'll distribute your information much more efficiently. It will just take longer.

UBL. I've tried this service and honestly I was not impressed. It took forever and a lot of the work they did was half assed. If you're taking local optimization seriously I wouldn't trust them to do this right -- especially for the priority citations and other important accounts. If you don't really care and just want to get something out there then this is an affordable service. I wouldn't do it again though.

Axciom. Acxiom listings are now free for up to 5 locations. Do this yourself and do it right. Don't let UBL do it. Same thing for other data distributors like InfoGroup which is also free and easy to do yourself.

If you don't have time to do this yourself, find a reputable company (like mine) that will do it right for you. Especially the priority citations like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp and others.

[SEODinosaur]

Doesn't Yext provide you with 30 featured listings rather than regular free listings?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Michelleh,
You will find differing opinions on this. Most of the Local SEOs I know use Localeze over UBL these days. I have seen doubts expressed regarding the current value of UBL. I have not used Yext, personally, but recommend you read Mike Blumenthal's recent review of their product:

http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/03/01/yext-local-seo/

I'll quote from Mike's post here:

"Pluses:

-From a management and process point of view for the local SEO the service makes sense. Its fast and efficient and provides some tracking. What would take 6 or 7 hours is done in 15 minutes. If outsourced it would cost in the range of a $100 but the quality and consistency would not be as good.

-It seems to generate between 5 and 6 additional citations that Google thinks are important. Why that should be the case with listings that have already been claimed is not clear.

-The service allows for specials to be easily created and disseminated quickly and things like hours to be changed in a timely fashion.

-There is some reporting and there is decent multilevel management so an SEO can allow clients to access their own reports.

-If a business were to move or change phone numbers it provides a very efficient way of grappling with that issue.

-Whether you use the service or not, Yext’s Local Search Scorecard is a great way to assess NAP consistency across a wide range of sites.

Negatives:

-The reporting is lame. Although in conversations with Yext’s Howard Lerman, they will be adding additional features and color. One of particular interest will be review tracking.

-The cost in and off itself is expensive and it is an annual recurring cost. There is a small reseller discount that starts at only 5% and with enough volume goes up.

• Web traffic from these sites is small compared to Google and even comparing to Bing or Yahoo. But that isn’t Yext’s issue."

I think the main concern with Yext's product is its cost. If you can afford it, it might be a good choice, but as I've said, most of the Local SEOs I know appear to continue to favor Localeze.

And, there is the alternative, as pointed out well by ITRogers, of doing this manually and making your own spreadsheet to keep track of your work. I don't consider this inferior to any product being offered because you have total control over exactly what you are doing. In many cases, manual submission might be the best choice, and if you do it yourself, it is certainly the most affordable!

[itrogers]

I have had experience with all three.

To answer your question, I think Localeze is the best for distributing your NAP, however, there is no substitute for or better value than manually claiming local citations. It also takes awhile for the listing to get distributed across of their local search platforms.

In my opinion, Yext is overpriced, but is valuable in claiming major citation sources. The number of profiles available are capped. David Mihm recently posted on this: http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/seo-industry/yext-local-marketing/

UBL is good, but I only spend the $39 core syndication annually since they have access to the Acxiom database.

In short, you can pay for all three, but don't just set it and leave it. Always claim and manage as many citations as you can manually. You can take advantage of all of the local search platform's features without overlooking anything.