Listings Verifier | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

Overview

Yext Listings syncs facts about businesses to 200+ publishers in the Publisher Network. The Listings Verifier is a tool that helps to ensure listing accuracy at scale by periodically scanning information on entities in Content and comparing it to the corresponding listings across the Publisher Network.

accuracy diagram

This reference details how listing accuracy is determined, which publishers and fields are supported by the Listings Verifier, and details on what occurs when a data mismatch is found.

Supported Publishers, Fields, and Languages

Not all publishers support real-time scanning or provide a time-of-receipt of the exact data they are showing on their listings. Because of this, listings accuracy verification is not available for some publishers.

Scroll horizontally to view all supported publishers in the table below.

Field Name Apple Google Facebook Yelp Bing MapQuest AroundMe Cylex Gelbe Seiten iGlobal BundesTelefonbuch Dialo
Name Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Address Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
City Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Region Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Country Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Postal Code Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lat/Long Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Phone Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hours Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
Closed Status Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Website URL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

The Listings Verifier is supported globally. However, for listings in languages other than English, the system may be prone to lower determination of accuracy. This may occur on fields where the formatting typically varies by country (such as Address, Postal Code, Phone Number, etc.)

Listings Scanning Process

To ensure the most up-to-date listings data possible, the Listings Verifier scans publisher data in two ways:

  • A real-time scan is initiated every time an entity is updated in Yext and that change is sent to the Publisher Network.
  • A backup scan runs automatically, regardless of changes made to entities. High-trafficked publishers, like Google, are scanned very frequently, while publishers with less traffic are scanned less frequently.

The latest data collected from the scanning process is compared with the data in Yext Content to determine listing accuracy and flag any data mismatches.

Listing Details

Once a listing is scanned, the results are displayed on the Listing Detail page in the platform, under the Verifier tab.

Listing Detail screen

The following columns are displayed for each field on the Listing Detail page:

  • Field: The display name of the field in Content.
  • Entity Data: The current value stored in the platform for this field.
  • Publisher Data: The latest verified publisher data.
  • Status:
    • Verified: The current data in the platform matches the data on the publisher site.
    • Processing: A scan is in progress.
    • Field Not Synced: The data is not being synced based on the Field Syncing & Mappings settings (found in the Configuration tab of the Publisher Detail page).
    • Data Mismatch: Data in the platform does not match the data on the publisher site.

Note that if a field is not supported by a certain publisher, it will not display in the table.

The table will only appear if the listing itself has a status of Synced. Note that the status of the listing is separate from the individual field statuses shown on the Verifier tab for a given listing.

If the listing has a status of Processing, Opted Out, or Not Synced, only the current listing status will be displayed on the Listing Detail page.

page detail tab of processing listing

Data Mismatch Details

  • If a field in Content is blank, and the publisher data is not, you will see <No value> in the Entity Data column.
  • If a field in Content is filled out, and the publisher data is blank, you will see <No value> in the Publisher Data column.

Other Actions

  • Force Sync: Resend data from the platform to the publisher.
  • View Listing: View the listing on the publisher site.
  • Scan: Fetch the publisher data and re-verify.
  • Opt In: Opt-in to this listing (only appears for listings that are currently opted out).

Data Mismatches

Data mismatches occur when the data on an entity in Content and the data on a corresponding listing do not match. Possible reasons for data mismatches, and the actions that can be taken, are detailed below.

Mismatch Reason Details Action to Resolve
Missing data on publisher Data is present for a given field in Content, but that field is empty on the publisher. The most common reason for this mismatch is the last listing sync failed for the missing field. Force Sync
Missing data in Yext Data is present on the publisher listing, but the corresponding field in Content is empty. Fill out entity data in Content
Difference in data formatting Data on the listing is similar to the corresponding field in Content, but is not an exact match (e.g., “NY” vs. “New York”). This normally occurs due to publisher data transformations. Force Sync or modify entity data in Content
Incorrect data on publisher Data on the listing is wrong and not representative of your data in Content. This usually indicates that the last listing sync failed for the incorrect field. Force Sync
Incorrect data in Yext Data on the listing is correct, but not representative of your data in Content. This is usually due to human error when filling out data in Yext. Modify entity data in Content

Publisher Transformations

Oftentimes, publishers will transform data when syncing with listings. A common example of this is whether or not a publisher removes business suffixes such as “LLC” or “Inc.” from the end of a business name.

For a full list of how certain publisher transformations are handled by the Listings Verifier, see the Data Transform Logic section below.

Listings Accuracy in Report Builder

See the Location Listings Metrics reference for details on the Listings Accuracy metric.

Publisher-Specific Logic

Data guidelines and specific changes pertaining to certain publishers are below.

Apple

  • May remove geomodifiers from business names
  • Does not allow tracking parameters on URLs

Facebook

  • Does not accept Name field from Yext
  • Any desired changes need to be updated directly on the Facebook listing

Yelp

  • Frequently interchanges http and https in the Website field

Data Transform Logic

Details on how specific data transforms are handled by the Listings Verifier are below, broken down by field.

Name

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
Pat’s Pizza Pat’s Pizza Match Exact match
Pat’s Pizza Inc Pat’s Pizza Match Removed business suffix
Pat’s Pizza Incorporated Pat’s Pizza Inc Match Abbreviated business suffix
Pat’s Pizza Inc Pat’s Pizza Incorporated Match Elongated business suffix
Pat’s Pizza, Inc. Pat’s Pizza Inc Match Removed punctuation
Pat’s Pizza - CLOSED Pat’s Pizza Match Removed closed status
Pat’s Pizza Park Slope Pat’s Pizza Match Removed geomodifier
Pat’s Pizza Pat’s Pizza Park Slope Match Added geomodifier (some publishers may pull this from the Address information)
Pat’s Pizza of Park Slope Pat’s Pizza Park Slope Match Removed preposition
   Pat’s        Pizza   Pat’s Pizza Match Removed extraneous spaces (two or more in a row)
Pat’s PIZZA Pat’s Pizza Match Adjusted text case
Pat’s Pizza - Best NYC Slice Pat’s Pizza & Best NYC Slice Match Replaced punctuation
Holiday Resort Holiday Resorts Match Modified plural noun
Casalino, Riker & Huang Casalino Riker & Huang Match Removed punctuation
Pat’s Pub Calvin’s Pub No Match Data mismatch
Pat’s Pub Pats Pub No Match Data mismatch
Pat’s Pub No Match Data mismatch
Pats Pub No Match Data mismatch

Address

This refers to the combination of the address and address2 fields in Yext.

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
52 Deerfield Rd 52 Deerfield Rd Match Exact match
52 Deerfield Road 52 Deerfield Rd Match Abbreviated street suffix
52 Deerfield Rd 52 Deerfield Road Match Elongated street suffix
52 Deerfield Rd Suite 100 52 Deerfield Rd Ste 100 Match Abbreviated secondary address unit designator
52 Deerfield Rd Ste 100 52 Deerfield Rd Suite 100 Match Elongated secondary address unit designator
52 Deerfield Rd Suite 100 52 Deerfield Rd #100 Match Replaced secondary address unit designator
52 Deerfield Rd #100 52 Deerfield Rd Suite 100 Match Replaced punctuation
52 Deerfield Rd Apt #5A 52 Deerfield Rd Apt 5A Match Removed punctuation
52 Deerfield Rd Apt A-15 52 Deerfield Rd Apt A15 Match Removed punctuation
52 DEERFIELD RD APT 5A 52 Deerfield Rd Apt 5a Match Formatted text
52 East Deerfield Rd 52 E Deerfield Rd Match Abbreviated cardinal direction
52 E Deerfield Rd 52 East Deerfield Rd Match Elongated cardinal direction
52 E Deerfield Rd 2nd FL 52 E Deerfield Rd Fl 2

or

52 E Deerfield Rd Second Floor
Match Modified address2 specification
740 E 3rd Ave 740 E Third Ave Match Modified primary address number
31 St. Thomas Street 31 St Thomas Street Match Removed punctuation
52 Deerfield Rd 52 Charles Rd No Match Data mismatch
52 Deerfield Rd 52 Deerfield Blvd No Match Data mismatch
52 Deerfield Rd Suite 100 52 Deerfield Rd No Match Data mismatch
52 Deerfield Rd No Match Data mismatch
52 Deerfield Rd No Match Data mismatch

Hours

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
M-Su 8am-5pm M-Su 8am-5pm Match Exact match
M-Su Closed M-Su 12am-12:01am Match Different representation of “closed”
M-Su 24hr M-Su 12am-12am Match Different representation of “open 24 hours”
M 8am-4am M 8am-12am, Tu 12am-4am Match Different representation of hours
W 8am-4pm, 6PM-11PM W 8am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, 6pm-11pm Match Yext limitation: only one split is supported. Compare only earliest and latest windows.
M-Th 10am-11pm, F-Su 10am-11:59pm M-Th 10am-11pm, F-Su 10am-midnight Match 11:59pm is rounded up to 12am
M-Su 8am-5pm M-Su 8am-2pm No Match Data mismatch
M-Su 8am-5pm No Match Data mismatch
M-Su 24hr No Match Data mismatch

Country Code

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
US US Match Exact match
US JP No Match Data mismatch
US No Match Data mismatch
US No Match Data mismatch

Phone

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
8006097657 8006097657 Match Exact match
8006097657 (800) 609 7657 Match Different formatting
8006097657 (800) 609-7657 Match Different formatting
8006097657 800-609-7657 Match Different formatting
8006097657 800.609.7657 Match Different formatting
8006097657 +18006097657 Match Added country code
18006097657 8006097657 Match Removed country code
0 820 12 38 00 820123800 Match International number - leading 0 with spaces
0120-003-200 120003200 Match International number - leading 0 with hyphens
(02) 9272 6888 292726888 Match International number - leading 0 with parentheses
18006097657 +448006097657 No Match Data mismatch
8006097657 8006097658 No Match Data mismatch
8006097657 No Match Data mismatch
8006097657 No Match Data mismatch

Website URL

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope Match Exact match
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope http://patspizza.com/parkslope Match Removed www.
http://patspizza.com/parkslope http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope Match Added www.
http://patspizza.com/parkslope http://patspizza.com/parkslope/ Match Added trailing backslash
http://patspizza.com/parkslope/ http://patspizza.com/parkslope Match Removed trailing backslash
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope https://www.patspizza.com/parkslope Match Replaced http with https (Yelp only)
http://patspizza.com/parkslope/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=fall-2022&utm_term=car-insurance&utm_content=cta1 http://patspizza.com/parkslope/ Match Removed UTM tracking tag
http://patspizza.com/parkslope/? http://patspizza.com/parkslope/ Match Removed blank UTM parameter (trailing question mark)
http://patspizza.com/parkslope/ http://patspizza.com/parkslope/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=fall-2022&utm_term=car-insurance&utm_content=cta1 No Match Verifier will recommend to add the tracking parameter to the URL in Yext
http://patspizza.com/parkslope/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=fall-2022&utm_term=car-insurance&utm_content=cta1 http://patspizza.com/parkslope/?utm_source=yext&utm_medium=organic No Match Tracking parameters are different
http://patspizza.com/NY http://patspizza.com/ny No Match URL slugs are case sensitive
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope http://www.calvinspizza.com/parkslope No Match Data mismatch
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope No Match Data mismatch
http://www.patspizza.com/parkslope No Match Data mismatch

Lat/Long

The Lat/Long field is verified by checking for the distance between the two sets of coordinates. The Listings Verifier uses these guidelines:

  • If the business address is visible in Yext (e.g. non-service area business): confirm the sets of coordinates are less than 500 meters apart
  • If the business address is hidden in Yext (e.g., service area business): confirm the sets of coordinates are less than 5,000 meters (five km) apart
Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
"{"latitude": 29.734, "longitude": -95.500}" "{"latitude": 29.734,"longitude": -95500}" Match Exact match
"{"latitude": 29.73435530690116,"longitude": -95.50055118614733}" "{"latitude": 29.734,"longitude": -95.500}" Match For Visible address; lat/long are <500 meters apart
"{"latitude": 29.75,"longitude": -95.52}" "{"latitude": 29.734,"longitude": -95.500}" Match Hidden addresses; lat/long are <5000 meters apart
"{"latitude": 30.0,"longitude": -95.421025}" "{"latitude": 29.734,"longitude": -95.500}" No Match Visible address; lat/long are >500 meters apart
"{"latitude": 30.0,"longitude": -96.4}" "{"latitude": 29.734, "longitude": -95.500}" No Match Hidden address; lat/long are >5000 meters apart
"{"latitude": 29.734, "longitude": -95.500}" No Match Data mismatch
"{"latitude": 29.734,"longitude": -95.500}" No Match Data mismatch

City

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
Brooklyn Brooklyn Match Exact match
Brooklyn NY Brooklyn Match Removed geomodifier
santa monica Santa Monica Match Capitalized text
Santa Monica Santa monica Match Decapitalized text
Castleton On Hudson Castleton-On-Hudson Match Added hyphens
Lees Summit Lee’s Summit Match Added possessive apostrophe
Lee’s Summit Lees Summit Match Removed possessive apostrophe
Bridgewater E Bridgewater Match Added cardinal direction
N Bridgewater North Bridgewater Match Elongated cardinal direction
Winston-Salem Winston Salem Match Removed hyphen
Winston Salem Winston-Salem Match Added hyphen
Saint Charles St. Charles
St Charles
Match Saint = St = St.
Mount Charles Mt. Charles
Mt Charles
Match Mount = Mt = Mt.
Fort Charles Ft. Charles
Ft Charles
Match Fort = Ft = Ft.
Charles Township Charles Township
Charles Twp
Charles Twp.
Charles Twsp
Charles Twsp.
Match Township = Twp = Twp. = Twsp = Twsp.
Geneve Geneva Match Corrected spelling – resolve with fuzzy match
Chicago Denver No Match Data mismatch
Chicago No Match Data mismatch – missing data on publisher
Chicago No Match Data mismatch – missing data in Yext

Region

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
NY NY Match Exact match
NY New York Match Elongated region code
NY NJ No Match Data mismatch
NY No Match Data mismatch – missing data on publisher
NY No Match Data mismatch – missing data in Yext

Postal Code

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
10011 10011 Match Exact match
10011-#### 10011 Match Removed +4 code
10011 10011-#### Match Added +4 code
PL15 7PF PL15 7PF Match Exact match (international)
PL15 7PF PL157PF Match Removed “ “ (international)
10011 10012 No Match Data mismatch
10011 No Match Data mismatch – missing data on publisher
10011 No Match Data mismatch – missing data in Yext

Closed Status

Entity Data Publisher Data Result Detail
Open Open Match Exact match
Temporarily closed Temporarily closed Match Exact match
Permanently closed Permanently closed Match Exact match
Open Temporarily closed No Match Data mismatch
Open No Match Data mismatch – missing data on publisher
Open No Match Data mismatch – missing data in Yext