Local search requires a lot of upkeep and monitoring. We’ve talked about how important accuracy is in local search, as well as how frequently you should audit your local listings for inaccuracies, but what happens to your listings if you cancel your subscription with a third-party service? Those directory listings don’t just disappear, so it’s worth taking the time to understand what will happen before you cancel your account.
How These Services Work
Third party services utilize Application Programming Interfaces (API) to communicate directly with publishers, meaning your listing data is pushed out automatically. Each publisher has its own API, which means each publisher also has a slightly different way of managing these information exchanges, and therefore also behave slightly differently when cancellations occur. For some, communications through publisher APIs simply stop happening. For others, there is one final call to indicate that the third party is no longer managing their listings. Depending on the platform, this might remove the “owner verified” attribution logo or send a signal that a new owner is needed to take over management of the account.
Without the updated information being pushed out, publishers will turn to other sources to find information to update listings. This, coupled with the differences in APIs and data management protocols is what can cause discrepancies between listings. But how big of a disruption are we talking exactly?
What Happens to Canceled Listings?
In short, things can get weird, quickly. A study of canceled Yext listings from Whitespark found the following data:
- 60% of the listings disappeared or started featuring incorrect information after the subscription was canceled.
- 35% were stripped partially or fully of any enhanced details (and they might have already been accurate before signing up for Yext).
- Only 5% of listings remained accurate and featured enhanced details, but of those, some listings had been manually claimed before the Yext subscription had been started.
We Can Help
Managing local search profiles requires a lot of legwork, but it’s worth the work it requires. Our Local Power tool takes the guesswork out of the equation. Contact one of our representatives to see how it can save your business time and money. Whether you need help with law firm marketing, medical specialty practice marketing or any other our industry marketing specialties, we are here to help you.
