With the advent of Yext, many small business owners have “thrown in the towel” and simply started paying Yext for their listing updates.  But, as this article indicates, it is still possible to get a free Yahoo listing.

The below excerpt was written in 2015, but I tried this earlier today, and it still works. If doing this for a client, you’ll have to send an automated verification call to their listed phone number after going through the process. So pick a time that they are actually open for business for best results.

Believe it or not, 1 out of every 8 searches in the U.S. are still done through Yahoo, so you want your local business to be properly represented there. Yahoo has gone through a lot of confusing changes recently, but the good news is you can still claim a free local business listing. Here’s how.

Earlier this year, Yahoo announced it was spinning off its small business division into a separate company called Aabaco. They said the local business services would be branded under the name of Luminate. To further complicate things, Yahoo then outsourced management of its local business listings to Yext.

Now Luminate is gone, Yahoo Small Business has become Aabaco Small Business, and Aabaco outsources to Yext to manage local business listing under a product called Localworks.

Confused yet? You’re not alone!

Don’t worry about all of this. There’s only one thing that’s important … here’s how can still get a free local business listing on Yahoo.

How to Claim a Free Local Business Listing on Yahoo

1. Go to Yahoo, search for your business, and you should see a link to “Add or update your business”.
2. That link will take you to http://www.yext.com/pl/yahoo-claims/index.html (you can just go here directly if you prefer).
3. Enter your business information and click “Find My Listings”.
4. You’ll then see page that is powered by Yext. It’s a bit intimidating with an “error rate” and all of these warnings that you’re not standing out and not verified through Yext. For now, don’t worry about all of this, just click the big “Continue” button.
5. Next, you can update the information about your listing. Complete this page fully … and don’t forget to use the same NAP (name, address, phone) that you use everywhere for your business. Click the “Continue” button when you’re done.
6. Yext will then present you with four paid plans, but immediately below these plans is a tiny link that says, “Claim your Basic Listing only on Yahoo” … click that link.
7. You’re now at the “Yahoo Basic Listing Checkout” page. Complete the checkout and click “Place Order” (it’s free).
8. Yext will send you an email to verify your email address. Click the link, create a password, then login to your account.
9. The final step is to verify you represent this business. The easiest method is to have them call you, but there are other methods as well.

Read more & watch a video of the process here.

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