NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As customers increasingly turn to local listings to inform their purchasing decisions, they care not only Where businesses are, but Why they should choose one business over another. Recognizing this, Yext announced today the launch of PowerListings+, a new feature that differentiates online business listings with rich content on search engines, mapping services and mobile apps.

PowerListings+ content lists allow businesses to provide local customers with information about Where the business is, and Why they should shop there, with content about Who, What and When of the business. The new features include content lists— Staff Bios, Event Calendars, Products and Services—that will live directly on business listings, and even appear in search results to reach as many potential customers as possible. These lists can be updated in real time and tailored to each location, affording businesses with an unprecedented amount of potential customer engagement through their local listings across all platforms.

• Staff Bios – Detailed bios allow businesses from gyms to insurance offices to share qualifications, backgrounds and photos of team members.
• Event Calendars - Sharing up-to-date calendars allows businesses to consistently display the fresh content customers are looking for.
• Products and Services - Promoting key brands or products both augments search for branded queries, and builds online discovery for browsing customers.

Each list label can be customized to reflect the products, services and information central to the business. (For example, a school can edit the "Staff Bios" label to "Our Teachers,") The lists can even be combined to create additional customer engagement.

The new PowerListings+ service bolsters Yext's already powerful PowerListings product, which empowers businesses with 1 to 10,000 locations to own their information on more than 45 local search engines, local directories and mobile applications. The platform still provides the same functionality to correct and update their location information, but also offers features designed to capture customers at the point of conversion with a rich, engaging experience.   

"Mirroring the physical world in the digital world is the future of local search," said Howard Lerman, Yext CEO and Co-founder.  "PowerListings+ moves listings beyond the Where to the Who, What, and When of contacting the business.  It helps businesses not only control the information customers see, but how they experience it."

About Yext:
Yext (http://www.yext.com) is the location information software that businesses trust to digitize and map their location information everywhere. With the PowerListings Network of over 45 publishers, businesses can instantly update their listings and reach more than 150 million potential customers every month. For more information about Yext and PowerListings+ visit www.yext.com.

Contact: Allison Tepley, Yext
Phone: 646-593-1592

SOURCE Yext