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Every well-rounded local SEO campaign will include some citation building, but how those citations are built and whether manual submissions or data aggregators are used will vary from campaign to campaign.
There’s no right or wrong way. However, for those with large or complex local SEO strategies and multiple physical locations, there’s no doubt that local data aggregators offer an efficient solution.
What are data aggregators? They are platforms that submit your business data to a wide range of listings, sites, and apps all at once. At the same time, these aggregators boast incredibly wide distribution. Not every listing or placement is guaranteed, as each platform works more like a marketplace, trading on the supply of business information.
Because citations include essential business details, such as name, address, and phone number (NAP), they’re incredibly useful for both search engine users and search engine crawlers.
We’ve seen that data aggregators make citation building easier by sending your business information to multiple sites automatically. There’s further good news, too; there are less than a handful of data aggregator services in the USA. This means it’s not too difficult to submit your business information to all of them.
Foursquare has emerged as a key player in the data aggregator market, having merged with Factual in 2020, one of the longest-standing data aggregators.
Most people recognize Foursquare as “that app you used to check in at your local coffee store to let your friends know how much of a caffeine nut you are.”
But Foursquare has since focused on providing accurate location data to various apps and publishers. Today, it powers location data for the likes of Uber, Snapchat, Apple Maps, and Bixby (Samsung’s Voice Assistant).
Foursquare now has one of the largest location data sets in the world, spanning more than 500 million devices, a panel of 25 million opted-in, always-on users, and more than 14 billion user-confirmed check-ins.
Data Axle says it is “the leading provider of business data to the top search engines, navigation systems, mobile apps, marketing information programs, and location-based apps. Our data powers the top search engines because we provide the most accurate, continually-verified collection of real-time business data available, delivered through powerful technology.”
Data Axle accepts business data submissions via its Data Axle Local Listings and BulkUpdate engines.
The process is simple: search Data Axle Local Listings for your business listing and verify the information is correct. Any anomalies can be corrected, and updates can be made in the future as circumstances change. As a bonus, the first ten locations are completely free!
Data Axle conducts a phone verification and then makes that data available to its partners, which it says include the leading in-car navigation systems, 85% of the largest public libraries, and the leading search engines, which account for 98% of all internet searches in the US.
The BulkUpdate works similarly but is for those with ten or more listings to submit, such as brands with multiple physical locations.
Neustar Localeze is a data aggregator for small businesses. Its local search solutions for small businesses are built around True Identity™, its proprietary platform, which offers listing management with full control over business data.
It says, “Our True Identity™ service enables businesses to update their local listing information with over 100 local search platforms, mobile applications, navigation systems, and directories at one time – from one place.
“Localeze publishes your listing information to the industry's largest authorized local search platform network.”
If you’re working with a single location and want a hassle-free way to submit data to a range of directories and apps, going straight to a local data aggregator makes sense.
However, this process gets more complicated when dealing with multiple locations. If you’re a business doing this for the first time for lots of your branches, or you’re an agency bringing on a multi-location client, it’s best to go via a provider or aggregator partner like BrightLocal to make it as cost-effective as possible. Providers and partners have existing relationships with data aggregators and directories that make submitting data and avoiding discrepancies much easier.
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