Update 11/19/2015: See this follow up article: Yahoo Small Business Listing Problems – YEXT or Aabaco or Luminate?

Update 11/1/2015: It appears that the SMB dashboard is now missing, please see this article for more information: http://www.telapost.com/luminate-coming-soon/

This is one that always seems to slip through the cracks. It seems that 99% of my clients have no idea how to access or claim their Yahoo Local listing, that or they never have, since they don’t use it. But, believe it or not, there are still people using Yahoo, and if I were you, I would claim that listing, get it verified, and give Yahoo all the info you can about your business.

Does Yahoo Local cost money?

Nearly everyone tells me they do not want to pay Yahoo! the $29.99/mo for their listing. If you know anything about search and user behavior, you know that many people glance at a page. Very few people take the time to read everything on a single page. Yahoo knows this as well. Is Yahoo intentionally being deceptive? It dupes the vast majority of people I speak to. This is what the first page looks like:

Yahoo Local Screenshot

 

As you can see, there is a big “Get started now” button which leads you down a path that is going to run you $359.88/yr. I wonder how many people pay this and forget about it forever?

Yahoo Local listings are free.

Claiming your existing listing

Don’t remember setting up that listing? You probably didn’t. Yahoo pulls in information from a variety of sources. Anyways, here is the process, as of March 2015 (it changes often):

1. Go here. Unless you want this “Localworks” package scroll past it. Lower. Lower. Eventually you will find the “Try Local Basic Listing for free” section. Please note that there is nothing to try, the service is free and has been that way forever. Here is a very poor screenshot of the section you’re looking for:

yahoo local - begin claim

2. Enter all of your business information. I can hear you now “Wait, I don’t want to list a new business, I want to claim my existing business listing!” It’s ok, we’ll get there. This IS the process.

business details

3.Ta-da, there’s your business. Click “Claim Listing”.

claim

 

4. Verify it. I have had mixed success with the phone system, but as of March 2015 it has been working out ok for us.

yahoo local verification screen

 

5. Another Localworks sales pitch:

yahoo localworks

 

6. On this screen, go on over to “Improve my local listing”, and, improve your listing.

yahoo local business details

  • Use the exact same business Name, Address, and Phone # everywhere. This is your NAP info. Don’t be Law Offices of John Doe on one search engine and Attorney John Doe on the next.
  • If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your Yelp info is 100% identical to your Yahoo info, as Yahoo now displays Yelp reviews.
  • Add everything you can, hours, pictures, etc, give Yahoo everything possible.

 

7. Wait for the review process. It generally takes under a week. If you are just now naming your biz to match up with Yelp and hoping that your Yelp reviews display, give it a month.

verification

Len
18 Comments
  1. Thanks for the post, it got me through. It is so so damn annoying that they hide the path forward that most people want.

    • Cool deal, glad it helped someone. 😀

      They couldn’t have hidden it much better than that!

  2. I think they have hidden it even more. I don’t see the “Try Local Basic Listing for free” section at all now, do you?

  3. Hey,

    It think the hid it again or the moved it it, do you know the new location?

  4. Hello Len,
    We are having the same YEXT demand for payment. How do we do for free?
    Thank you!
    Zheng
    Zheng Portrait Photography
    http://www.jcimages.com/

  5. Thanks Len!!

    I recall trying to claim it 6 months ago but just getting sent to the monthly fee program that seemed pointless which led me to believe there was not another option. Appreciate your work!

    Now I am trying to log in to Aabaco Small Business and it says it needs to email me. But the Aabaco email never comes.

    What do I do now? Why is this so complicated? At least Yahoo was just trying to scam me, now I can’t even use Aabaco…

  6. goog to know, thanks!

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