Yext Research Journal - July 2025
Search science for local brand visibility.
Adam Abernathy
What is Yext Research?
Yext Research is a new initiative from Yext designed to help SEOs, marketers, and analysts understand the evolving nature of search. Search is no longer a static list of links. It's a dynamic, AI-influenced ecosystem shaped by context, language, and trust. Marketers and analysts need to understand how discovery works today and tomorrow, not how it worked five years ago. Our goal is to ask better questions and share what we learn, collaborating with others interested in the future of search and discovery.
In the blink of a geological eye, humans have unlocked mysteries of the atom and explored space. Looking back on just the last 30 years, we've gone from science fiction to a global digital ecosystem. Accelerating even faster than our journey into space, AI has completely upended long-standing industries and professional ecosystems. During this transition, we're beginning to speculate about what the change curve will look like as we straddle two worlds: one of traditional search and the other of neural networks.
Drawing on our extensive data sources and expert insights, we're building an ongoing digital observatory to uncover the dynamic nature of search and AI.
This effort is not limited to internal analysis or reports produced solely by Yext. We are actively partnering with respected experts and influential practitioners in the field of local search, among them Andrew Shotland, Neal Polachek, Greg Sterling, among other established voices who bring deep domain knowledge and a grounded perspective.
These collaborations are substantive engagements intended to challenge assumptions, add external rigor, and extend the relevance of our work beyond our own platform. In future editions, you can expect to see joint research, co-authored studies, and shared analysis developed in close coordination with these partners.
This new effort reflects our commitment to share meaningful insights to strengthen not only our customers but everyone as a whole. We believe that meaningful data and a diverse set of perspectives will benefit the digital marketing community.
In this edition, you will find:
- Building a Monthly Digital Brand Visibility Observatory. We developed a time-indexed observatory to evaluate how local search performance shifts month over month. This initiative helps uncover patterns often missed by static reporting. It also enables us to evaluate how AI-generated citations behave under various temporal conditions, thereby drawing a clearer view of what is relevant, what is timely, and what is useful.
- Best Practices Will Only Take You So Far. General guidance has its place, but success in search and discovery is rarely one-size-fits-all. Google doesn't treat a healthcare provider the same way it treats a restaurant or a financial institution. We examine this discrepancy using two frameworks: first, the traditional impressions-based view, and second, a more in-depth statistical approach that considers user behavior, conversion signals, and industry variability.
- Optimizing Keyword Selection for Local SEO. Getting the right keywords and categories on a local listing is non-negotiable. Too many, and you risk dilution; too few, and you lose discoverability. Further complicating matters is that the local competition varies, leaving one-size-fits-all strategies lacking. We introduce a novel and reproducible method for calculating the optimal number and mix of terms, utilizing local competition intelligence to accurately reflect your business and create space between local competitors, thereby striking a balance of relevance, precision, and breadth without tipping into clutter or vagueness.
Fin.
Yext Research underscores our belief that progress in search science, particularly at the local level, requires a broader perspective, a sharper critique, and input from multiple industries. We're building that directly into the fabric of Yext Research.
