Yext yes or no?

[Belen C]

Hello, I've been reading in the forum about this api YEXT. And im researching to know if it worth it or not.
Have someone use it? Would you recommend it?

If im going to start using it, is to automatize the process, and make it simple and faster, i wouldn't like it to give me more head aches.

Any recommendation i will appreciate a lot

TIA

 

[Colan Nielsen]

@Belen C There are several really good threads about Yext on this forum. Just use the search bar and search for Yext.

The only time I suggest Yext is when you manage 100+ locations and the locations have core data that changes frequently that you need to update across all the top business directories.

 

[Annika Neudecker]

@Belen C
The only time I suggest Yext is when you manage 100+ locations and the locations have core data that changes frequently that you need to update across all the top business directories.

And even then, there are a few other enterprise-level providers which can regularly push out updated local listings, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Yext is one of many options. Off the top of my head, from the last time we looked at local listings providers, the list included GoLocal, Chatmeter, Moz, Brandify, and RIO SEO.

If you are managing a large number of locations, it might be worth looking around, scheduling a few calls, and seeing who fits your needs the best. Some providers make big claims and talking to different ones can provide a nice reality check.

 

[Ari C.]

@Belen C
I came across your post and was curious to know how your experience has been working with Yext so far?

I just wrote an article about the pros and cons of using Yext as a citation management tool. I'd love to see what your user experience has been.

 

[abbietorres]

I would recommend Chatmeter, my clients that use Yext have a lot of discrepancies with the listings, updates, data pulls. Plus Yext salespeople are extremely pushy. To me, the Yext platform is pricy and complicated.

 

[keyserholiday]

I have used Yext for several years and the level of service and support has significantly gone downhill since their IPO. NAP consistency is no longer important. Make sure your data is correct where you show up when you search for your business name and address. The days for citation management services is over. You do need to monitor your GMB, Yelp, Apple Maps, and FB listings to ensure users are not making bad edits.

 

[Belen C]

Hi @Ari C. i didnt have a good experience with them to be honest. As @abbiebeltran mention i have a lot of discrepancies in the different directories. As well with the support every time i contact them to ask them to fix some problem most of their awnsers are that they can not help that with that issue cause is more about the directory.

Also something that i didn't like is the thing they offer before hire them, like solutions and advantages, is way different that the actual ones. We use Yext for over six month for a client and we still have big problems and no solution.

Personally i would not recommend Yext. My clients has hotels, so the directories useful for this kind of business i don't actually think is worth the money. Im not sure about other business if its better.

 

[Belen C]

To comment what @keyserholiday that i agreed 100%, the discrepancies im finding is the incorrect website in most cases. That for hotels is a huge thing cause is where the direct booking come from.

 

[keyserholiday]

Any takers what company I alluded to here? A company I know contacted support over an issue and instead of getting help, Yext closed the ticket and supplied a link to a Google support doc. Yext gives half-answers and mistruths. It's sad that they argue with me. They told the same company that the new COVID-19 links were not in the API. I keep telling them that they were wrong and they refused to acknowledge that they were wrong.

 

[Belen C]

Yext for sure!!! in one complain that i make to them of a listing not showing in Foursquare, their awnser was to change the name of the hotel, what awnser is that!? like if its possible to change it.

 

[keyserholiday]

Oh, the stories I have re Yext. That company that I consult for, updates banner images on FB every 3 to 4 months. Every time, they would add a new banner image, they had some mysterious error. Every time Yext would state they didn't have any issues on their side. They also created a ton of duplicate FB pages on my account that I am still slowly trying to clean up. FYI, never ever allow them to do anything in bulk.

 

[billenross]

Was a Yext partner for 4 years -as @keyserholiday mentions; the whole show went to hell after their IPO. Prior to that time my account rep would check in every few weeks to be sure all was well, and was always available by phone or email in under 30 mins. After IPO, I had a new account manager every 6 months and the only time I heard from them was 60 days before the contract was going to renew. Cancelling was a nightmare, save yourself the headache.

 

[keyserholiday]

I honestly can't believe how they treat their partners. They let a brand engage in conversations and the agency lost all of those accounts. It happened twice to them. Yext makes sense if you have over 100 locations but they are not worth the headaches and constant issues.

 

[Belen C]

Hi @billenross when you cancel with them, did you loose the info? And if you had, can you tell me in which of the main directories if you can?

 

[Ari C.]

I would recommend Chatmeter, my clients that use Yext have a lot of discrepancies with the listings, updates, data pulls. Plus Yext salespeople are extremely pushy. To me, the Yext platform is pricy and complicated.

Hey Abbie, thanks for joining in on the conversation!

With your clients that are currently using Yext, is there anything they do enjoy about using them?

Also a follow-up question with Chatmeter, what makes them better than Yext?

Has anyone used any of these Yext alternatives? Yext Pros & Cons and Alternatives - Victorious

 

[JoshuaMackens]

There's no reason to use a citation management service unless you have 50+ locations or more, which has already been mentioned. For your clients that don't, just get your citations done manually once and be done with it.

 

[kevintroendle7]

How to submit manually? Do you manually submit to the top X most impactful ones?

• Google My Business listing
• Acxiom
• Apple Maps
• Bing
• Citygrid
• Facebook
• Factual
• Foursquare
• Infogroup/ExpressUpdate
• Localeze
• Superpages
• Yahoo!*
• YP
• Yelp

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Each site has their own way to submit. It would be too long to detail it here.

A few notes:

Acxiom is no longer around.
Citygrid takes info from ExpressUpdate
Yahoo can be done but it is tricky

 

[nmosier85]

Whitespark just added a new Yext replacement service that might be worth checking out. I've been using Whitespark for a couple of months now and am super impressed!

 

[abbietorres]

Hey Abbie, thanks for joining in on the conversation!

With your clients that are currently using Yext, is there anything they do enjoy about using them?

Also a follow-up question with Chatmeter, what makes them better than Yext?

Has anyone used any of these Yext alternatives? Yext Pros & Cons and Alternatives - Victorious

When you are managing more than 1,000 locations you have to use an API and vendor with an API. There is no getting around that.

Any platform that provides bulk listing management makes the job easier. However, Yext is not really a listing manager nor do they push feeds to major aggregators. Their service(s) can be done by several other competitors who offer better service at a cheaper rate.

I like Chatmeter because the Review Platform is really social listening tool, which can be white-labeled. They're listing management platform is really easy to navigate. The founder of the company actually worked with Yext to build Yext Review service but separated to start his own platform. Check them out