Launch of Yext Reviews Enables Businesses to Star in Search

Key to the consumer selection process, location reviews play pivotal role in search rank

Yext today announced the launch of Yext Reviews, a comprehensive review management solution designed to help businesses monitor, engage, generate, publish, and analyze their location reviews, so the best version of their business is always on display.

"In today's mobile-first world, location reviews drive awareness and consumer decisions about where to shop, where to eat, and where to do business. And their importance is only increasing," said Marc Ferrentino, Yext Chief Strategy Officer.

A recent Yext study found that a business listing with a similar rating, but with more reviews than a rival business, captures over 50% more clicks on average for a given search. And the reviews category continues to evolve as Google introduced two massive changes to its search algorithms this year that prioritize reviews in local ranking and change how to display stars from ratings directly in organic search results.

"The rapid evolution of reviews and the emergence of new review sources result in more complexity, and many businesses are struggling to manage their presence across all the sites that influence consumers," added Ferrentino. "Beating the competition requires a proactive strategy to leverage reviews effectively, instead of leaving them unaddressed."

Introducing Yext Reviews

Yext Reviews makes it easy for businesses to stand out with five key features:

• Review Monitoring: Monitor all of the location reviews from customers — including those on third-party sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp — in one place. Automated notifications alert businesses to new reviews as they appear.
• Review Generation: Encourage real customers to submit reviews based on actual visits and experiences. Leverage email, SMS, receipts, and five other channels to leverage in search.
• Review Balancing: Yext's proprietary Review Balancing algorithm dynamically chooses the most impactful site to direct customers to ensure an even distribution.
• Review Publication: Publish the reviews you generate to your business website or app with pre-optimized Schema.org widgets so stars appear in your organic search results.
• Review Response: Respond to reviews where needed. With workflows and approval settings, local managers can respond to reviews for locations they manage.
• Review Insights: Analyze review trends and changes over time so you can remedy issues as they arise–and reward loyal customers as you so choose.

Leading brands including Denny's Inc., are already seeing results with Yext Reviews.

"Making our guests feel at home is at the core of who we are, and so reviews represent an invaluable opportunity to help people understand the welcoming Denny's culture through authentic guest experiences, said Erik Jensen, Senior Director, Brand Engagement, Denny's, Inc. "Yext Reviews provides an easy way to invite our guests to review us online and spread the word."

For more information and to request a demo, visit yext.com/reviews.