Is Yext Worth It, Cost & All?

5 minute read

Is Yext Powerlistings worth it? Before we dive into today’s question let’s discuss what Yext even is, how it works, and how much does Yext cost per location.

What is Yext?

Yext puts your business on the map from one central hub on the cloud so you can access it online wherever and whenever you want. Its engine syncs to over 70 services in the PowerListings® Network. Yext Directories, Pages, Profiles and Reviews help businesses internationally boost their brand in their local area, drive traffic in other channels than just search, and increase sales directly and indirectly.

Yext is essentially an easy way to buy over 70 high-quality links to your website without the risk of getting penalized by Google. Google does not see Yext as a link-building scheme, but just because Google trusts Yext’s PowerListings, don’t get this confused with other link-building techniques that might be considered black hat SEO and will hurt your website. Yext is one of the very few ways to buy links and not get whacked with a penalty that will cause your rankings to plummet.

How Much Does Yext Cost?

Yext currently offers 4 small business package solutions with costs ranging from $199 to $999 per year. There are over 150,000 businesses utilizing their software currently and rely on it daily. This brings us to the question now, is Yext worth it?

Is Yext Powerlistings Worth It?

Yext Powerlistings are a little more expensive than other local SEO listing tools such as Moz Local, but it is also a direct feed into your directories, reviews, and profiles. If you were trying to get your listings published fast and need to show results (or reports) to your team or boss, Yext would be a good option. The important listings are updated instantly, some others can take up to 72 hours, while less important ones can take up to 30 days.

If you have ever tried to set up and submit to these profiles manually, it can take hours and hours of your time, not to mention 90 days plus for your listings to be accepted and posted live if you are lucky enough to get them accepted first try. Updating a phone number, URL, or address manually would be a nightmare across all platforms!

As far as what happens to your listings when you cancel or if you don’t renew your package, the additional data that was added via Yext’s API will no longer be valid or displayed once you stop paying (they call it no longer a “trusted” listing). We never had one revert back to a pre-listing status. Yext uses one of the many large databases: Factual. Chances are that by submitting to Factual the other data aggregators will pick up your listings with time, even if you have not submitted to them.

Some key features & benefits of Yext local SEO:

• Build brand awareness and dominate your local area.
• Control everything under one cloud-based hood with one username & password that saves you time and aggravation.
• Build 70+ high-quality inbound links to your website within 15 days effortlessly.
• Faster updates equal less downtime and more profits. Plus automated scheduling so you can plan in advance.
• Review and reputation monitoring make you a trusted business.
• Trackable data with analytics so you can automate reports and instant notifications.
• App directory with 56 pre-built integrations into Salesforce, Hubspot, Zapier, Zendesk & more.
• Keep your contact listings consistent with duplicate listing suppression so your customers aren’t confused. Especially useful if you open a new location because this is when extra listings get auto-generated or merged with incorrect mixed-up contact information.
• Publisher suggestions keep the public, disgruntled ex-employees, and your competitors from changing your information. You are alerted instantly and are given the option to accept or reject the changes.
• Get extra features such as pictures, feature message call-to-action, videos, menu & service pages, and more so you stand out from the rest.
• Smart address formats and multilingual content support so your international locations don’t get lost in translation.

Some important statistics about Yext & local SEO:

• According to Google, 76% of consumers who use the location search on their mobile devices visit a business within one day, and of these people, 28% make a purchase!
• A Yext survey conducted of 31,000 locations found that businesses that include enhanced content received 416% more profile views.
• In recent research conducted by Yext, 95% of surveyed consumers reported finding incorrect information about a company online. 63% reported that this happens a lot. 91% indicated that finding incorrect info about a business had negatively impacted their experience with that business.

Our Professional Advice About Yext’s Worth To You

So is Yext worth it? Absolutely! Your time is valuable and could be spent better in other ways such as running your business, content marketing, paid advertising, or on-page SEO. These strategies are effective in generating leads and reaching goals, and take a lot of time to develop.

Ask yourself, how much time and hassle will Yext Powerlistings save you?

You can easily make up the cost of Yext by investing that same amount of time elsewhere. A recent study found that you will not only pay back your investment but start seeing an impressive return within as little as 5 months.

Also, keep in mind, the updates you might need to make in the future such as a change of address, new phone number, different holiday hours, or opening a brand new location. How much foot traffic and revenue will you lose if it takes 90+ days to update all those directories, profiles, and review sites online manually?

All in all, we use Yext for our own company and for our client’s businesses as well, because we know that Yext is worth it from years of experience in the marketing and local SEO industries. We have used Yext Powerlistings successfully as part of our marketing and SEO strategies, and have always seen a boost in leads and sales. After all, reaching goals in the most effective and efficient way increases profit margins and lowers cost-per-acquisition.

If you need help deciding which Yext package to buy, or how to use Yext most effectively within your current marketing strategies, contact Tag Marketing today. We have the knowledge and experience to get your company to its goals faster.

We are partnered with Yext and can save you $299 upfront and $199 each year thereafter!