Should you really pay for aggregators annually?

[Michael Alejandrino]

1. Is a trusted-status-when-you-renew true for *any* aggregators?

2. Is Foursquare unique among aggregators in its pay-once-access-forever model?

I read with interest Joy's post last month Should You Really Pay for an Annual Citation Subscription?

The only renewing citations we know about is for aggregators, thanks to the strong recommendations of a popular citations provider.

We’ve renewed client listings with Foursquare (the only aggregator for Australia) because apparently doing so retains a listing’s “trusted” status.

Curious, I asked Foursquare Support directly to tell me more about this “trusted” status, asking three different times in different ways - including linking to the citations provider’s page about "what happens if I don't repurchase..." - but they had no idea about this status

Foursquare Support did absolutely confirm that (1) a basic listing is free, (2) you can pay to claim a full listing so you can edit details, add website, social links and photos, and (3) the payment is one-off, with the benefits persisting after 12 months: no renewals required

 

[whitespark]

At Whitespark, we do not charge for or renew any data aggregators. On DataAxle and Localeze you lose some details on the listing like a description and URL, but that’s fine IMO, because after a full year, your complete info will have been distributed to all the sites that purchase their data.

And the aggregators will tell you that you lose your “lock” on the listing info. Basically, if you have a paid listing, then they trust the info you are providing and don’t overwrite it if they come across other data that contradicts your listing data. But once your listing is no longer managed, then they may update your listing with conflicting data they find in their data aggregation process, and then that could end up on the sites in their network.

But as long as you have accurate data on the primary sources, phone company, utility companies, government records, etc, then this shouldn’t be a concern.

In Australia, I wouldn’t consider renewing at all.

 

[Michael Alejandrino]

But once your listing is no longer managed...

Thanks Darren for the valuable answer!

Wow, I'd love to know at what point a listing is considered "no longer managed".

This may vary between aggregators, but at least at Foursquare, my support person was definitive in confirming that the benefits of a paid listing persist after 12 months, never needing any renewals.

 

[whitespark]

Thanks Darren for the valuable answer!

Wow, I'd love to know at what point a listing is considered "no longer managed".

This may vary between aggregators, but at least at Foursquare, my support person was definitive in confirming that the benefits of a paid listing persist after 12 months, never needing any renewals.

I was only referring to DataAxle and Localeze. A listing is no longer managed when your 1 year subscription expires and it is not renewed.

 

[Michael Alejandrino]

I was only referring to DataAxle and Localeze. A listing is no longer managed when your 1 year subscription expires and it is not renewed.

Thank you for saving me and my clients $25 USD each, every year.

In most cases, unless there's some compelling reason otherwise, we'll now claim it once on Foursquare, and make changes directly as required.

 

[DClark]

Most aggregators apply a trusted/managed flag to claimed listings in their repositories. This influences how publishers use the data as it typically viewed as more trustworthy than non-managed/aggregated data. Once management is no longer in place, aggregators will typically remove the trusted/managed flag and reserve the right to update the data for the listing based on new sources. Removing your management of a listing typically influences (a) the trusted/managed flag (b) the confidence scoring of the listing and (c) the data for the listing as it could be updated based on new sourcing.

Some aggregators may work with service providers (i.e. providers of business phone, internet, etc.) as, in some cases, the data is considered to be more accurate due to the the service provider truck-rolling and installing services for the business. However, typically some service providers cannot make data available or have limited data that they can provide. They also do not usually have, or make, extended attributes(url, hours, etc.) for the business location available.

There can be cases where removal of the managed data submission results (a) data being overwritten on publisher sites relatively quickly and (b) an aggregator, over time, no longer publishing your listing due to lack of corroboration from other sources. All aggregators and publishers of listing data reserve the right to publish what they determine to be most accurate for a business when direct data is not available.

 

[Michael Alejandrino]

Thank you. What you said matches a lot of what Darren covered in the first reply, emphases mine:

Basically, if you have a paid listing, then they trust the info you are providing and don’t overwrite it if they come across other data that contradicts your listing data. But once your listing is no longer managed, then they may update your listing with conflicting data they find in their data aggregation process, and then that could end up on the sites in their network.

But as long as you have accurate data on the primary sources, phone company, utility companies, government records, etc, then this shouldn’t be a concern.