Local Business Audit Help.....

[steve215]

Hello Every one,

I recently got a big project for cleaning up some old listings (around 120 locations), witch means to claim and delete them, as you guys know most of the directory's don't give the option to delete the listing after you claim that.

I am trying to figure out the approach for something like that.......considering time consuming and efficiency!

any help will be appreciated!!

Cheers

[BeanstalkIM]

I think you can actually do this with Yext but I'm not 100% sure as I haven't used them though I have looked into them recently as an option.  I know you can pretty easily delete duplication and from my understanding I can't see why you couldn't use the same system to remove old listings.

Obviously you'd want to ask them before committing though as it's not cheap but you should be able to get some volume discounts.

[DonnaDuncan]

You haven't said which directories you want help with. I'm assuming you know to use the data aggregators to deal with most problems.

In terms of Google, I was told a while ago that you can just call Google and they'll delete duplicates for you. Go to https://support.google.com/places/contact/c2c_places and click "contact us" in the upper right hand corner.

I haven't tried this myself, so let us know if it works. It also doesn't solve your efficiency problem, but at least it's a place to start.

[Travis_Bailey]

As Donna mentioned, it does matter which listings/directories you need to access and change. For some directories, you may have to use Yext. I personally don't care for the service, as it's a data overlay. Stop paying, and the data reverts to whatever was there in the first place.

Why would you claim and delete the listings? That sounds like it may be counterproductive, in many instances. Claim and modify the listings so they reflect an accurate NAP, where possible.

At any rate, here is a guide from Moz that should help you with your local listing problem. There are some opportunities for automation there. Hopefully the work has been priced accordingly.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Steve,

If you are dealing with citations for 120 locations, there is pretty much no way you should be doing that manually ;). That's an enormous project!

As others have mentioned on this thread, there are going to be several options for you to choose from in terms of a purchased service, and, you may need to implement that with some manual follow-up in case these programs don't correct everything, in which case, this resource may help: http://www.reengageconsulting.com/be-where-your-customers-are-with-local-business-listings/

[JustinMurray]

I like Donna and Travis' answers, and I would also like to add an automation/scripting option. This only works on certain directories, social networks, etc, and is dependant on your drive to automate/scripting experience, scale of issue, and structure of the target directory/website code/process. The easiest way is to use something like this - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/imacros-for-chrome/cplklnmnlbnpmjogncfgfijoopmnlemp?hl=en

Basically, you play through the process once, it records the "steps", then loop it with any variations or csv data pull needed to automate browser tasks.

[steve215]

Thanks Guys!

The info you provided was very helpful specially  Miriam Ellis reference, there is a lot of useful information!

By the way any one know witch Data provider angieslist.com get the data ?

[MiriamEllis]

So glad that helped, Steve. Regarding Angie's List, I am not 100% sure on this - their data could be proprietary. Our Local Search Ecosystem does not show any system pushing to Angie's List: https://moz.com/learn/local/local-search-data-us

[DonnaDuncan]

Thanks for the reengage consulting link Miriam. Great resource!

[DonnaDuncan]

That's my understanding as well. You have to submit your own information unless a member previously submitted your business along with a review.

http://support.business.angieslist.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/99/~/getting-onto-angies-list

[MiriamEllis]

Isn't that a gem, Donna? Really a nice resource!

[BeanstalkIM]

That's an amazing resource.  How have I not landed on that before !

Thanks Miriam !