Yext Alternative: Local Listing Audit

Audit the public directory visibility and NAP evidence for businesses you already know. For each supplied business, this Actor searches a fixed set of fifteen directory domains, records a source URL when a same-domain result is present, and labels each observable name, phone, address/city, and website signal as a match, mismatch, not observed, or not requested.

Use it for a recurring, source-linked audit of a known location list. Its focused role is public-evidence observation; use Yext for managed listing actions, publisher distribution, reviews, approvals, analytics, and knowledge-graph workflows.

What you get

One complete dataset record per persisted audit, including:

Field	Meaning
directoriesFound / directoriesMissing	Count of same-domain results found or not found in the inspected search result set. A missing result is not proof that no listing exists.
directories[]	One evidence record per directory with its query, source URL, snippet, and individual match states.
directoriesWithObservedMismatch	Directories where an available snippet signal disagreed with caller-provided canonical data.
directoriesWithInsufficientEvidence	Directories where a result was found but the search snippet did not expose enough information to assess every supplied signal.
observedCitationHealthScore	A transparent 0–100 coverage-and-evidence score, not a ranking, listing-ownership, sync, or visibility guarantee.
sourceRunId	The owned Google SERP sub-run used to discover directory evidence.

Quick start input

{
  "businesses": [{
    "externalId": "location-001",
    "businessName": "Example Bakery",
    "phone": "+1 212 555 0100",
    "address": "123 Example Street",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "website": "https://example.com"
  }],
  "country": "US",
  "maxBusinesses": 10
}

The Actor requires a name, a telephone number with at least seven digits, and a city. Give the canonical address and website whenever available; they let the output say exactly what was or was not observable.

Output example

{
  "externalId": "location-001",
  "businessName": "Example Bakery",
  "city": "New York",
  "directoriesChecked": 15,
  "directoriesFound": 9,
  "directoriesMissing": 6,
  "directoriesWithObservedMismatch": 1,
  "directoriesWithInsufficientEvidence": 4,
  "observedCitationHealthScore": 63,
  "directories": [{
    "directory": "yelp",
    "findingState": "found_with_complete_match_evidence",
    "listingUrl": "https://www.yelp.com/biz/example-bakery",
    "nameMatch": "match",
    "phoneMatch": "match"
  }],
  "source": "google_site_search_via_owned_serp_actor"
}

How this bounded workflow compares with Yext

This independent Actor replaces one limited step: auditing public directory-discovery evidence for locations you already know, with a dataset you can schedule, export, or send to another workflow. Yext remains the appropriate choice for its managed, direct-publisher listing distribution, knowledge graph, reviews, role-based workflows, analytics, and listing-action controls.

Decision	This Actor	Yext	Best fit
Scope	Public directory discovery and NAP-evidence audit for known locations	Managed listings, data, review, analytics, and enterprise workflows	Use this Actor for audit records; use Yext for managed publisher operations.
Starting point	Known business name, phone, and city	Organization/location data in the Yext platform	Use this Actor when you already maintain the location list.
Output	Source URL, search snippet, observed match state, explicit data gaps	Product-managed operational controls and publisher integrations	Use the Actor where auditable public evidence is enough.
Billing	$0.25 per persisted completed audit plus Apify platform usage	Yext's current pricing is sales-led; no public same-job price was verified for this dossier	Compare only an equivalent location count, directory coverage, and action scope.
Effective efficiency	One source-linked audit record per known location	Broader operational workflows	Compare accepted records and operator review minutes for the same location set.
Actions	Read-only; does not claim, create, update, sync, or suppress listings	Supports listings operations and connected publisher workflows	Choose Yext when a human or approved workflow must change publisher data.

Yext is a trademark of its owner. This independent Actor is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Yext.

How evidence is collected

For every business, the Actor makes one batched call to the owned khadinakbar/scrape-google-serp Actor. The call queries each fixed directory domain with a query like site:yelp.com "Example Bakery" "New York". The Actor then keeps only organic results whose host is the checked directory and compares the available title/snippet against caller-provided canonical values.

The method intentionally reports not_observed when a result snippet does not expose a phone number, address, or website. It does not silently treat absent snippet text as a mismatch. Search indexes change, and a directory can hold a listing that does not surface in the inspected result set; use source URLs and a human review before claiming a business is absent or incorrect.

Use through the API

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/yext-alternative').call({
  businesses: [{ businessName: 'Example Bakery', phone: '+1 212 555 0100', city: 'New York' }],
  country: 'US',
  maxBusinesses: 1,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items[0].directories);

Use with AI agents through Apify MCP

Audit the public directory evidence for the known locations in my CRM. Keep the external ID, show only observed mismatches and insufficient-evidence records, preserve source URLs, and recommend directory changes only after a human review.

Use the current client setup at Apify MCP. Ask the agent to inspect both the dataset and OUTPUT before interpreting a run. The terminal outcome records complete, partial, invalid-input, and upstream-result states.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event with platform usage passed through: $0.25 per persisted completed audit, plus Apify platform usage. A run that persists ten completed audits has $2.50 in audit events plus current platform usage. The event is coupled to the dataset write, so only persisted completed audits create the completed-audit event. Check the live Pricing tab after private deployment for current configuration and charge behavior.

Best results

• Start with a clean canonical location list: official name, direct business phone, city, address, and website.
• Use the US directory set for US locations; other countries are available only for limited exploratory use in v0.1.
• Review a sample of source URLs before treating a directory gap or mismatch as an operational task.
• Schedule repeated runs when monitoring changes, while keeping the prior output as a dated observation rather than proof of continuous accuracy.

Builder's note

I designed the match states around the weak point of directory audits: search snippets often omit a phone, address, or website. A missing snippet field is therefore reported as not_observed, while an available conflicting signal is reported as a mismatch. That keeps the output useful for a review queue without turning absent evidence into a false correction task.

Focused standalone workflow

This Actor works as a focused standalone workflow for teams that maintain their own location list and want a source-linked audit before a human decides whether to investigate or update anything.

Responsible use

Use public listing information only for locations you are authorized to audit. Respect search-engine and directory terms, privacy law, and any review or approval process before changing a listing.