Research Brief · Digital presenceYext Research | August 2026

Active Digital Presence Goes With More Customer Actions

Across four business sizes and 10 industries, three studies examine how platform presence and regular updates relate to calls, website clicks, and direction requests.

By Yext Research

The research covers physical business locations in North America and Europe.

digital presence · business listings · Google Search visibility · customer actions · Yext Research

2.39x

the platform presence rate across all locations

2.61x

the platform presence rate for businesses with 500 or more locations

150% more

total customer actions the next month for locations on 50 or more live platforms, compared with 1 to 20

The short version

Actively managed locations appeared on more third-party platforms. Locations found on more platforms received more customer actions the next month. Locations that updated customer-facing information more often also received more actions. Together, the findings show that broad presence and regular updates go with more opportunities for customers to call, visit a website, or request directions.

What to do. Keep each location's core facts current across third-party platforms. Then track calls, website clicks, directions and total actions after updates.

What this report covers

We studied physical business locations in North America and Europe. The report includes brands of every size, from a single location to organizations operating 500 or more locations.

We grouped brands into four size ranges. Those groups were 1 location, 2 to 49 locations, 50 to 499 locations, and 500 or more locations. We also tested the findings across 10 industries.

The report asks three questions. Are actively managed locations found on more third-party platforms? Do locations found on more platforms receive more customer actions? Do locations that update their information more often receive more actions the following month?

Study 01

Actively Managed Locations Appeared on More Platforms

Yext Scout checked whether each physical location appeared on third-party digital platforms. One group had Yext Listings live at both ends of a 90-day period. The comparison group had no Yext listing evidence.

We first looked at all locations together. Actively managed locations were found on 89.61% of checked platforms, compared with 37.47% for the comparison group. That means the actively managed rate was 2.39x as high.

Next, we tested the same pattern across business sizes. Actively managed locations appeared more often in every size group. Among brands operating 500 or more locations, actively managed locations were found on 91.07% of checked platforms, compared with 34.83% for the comparison group. That rate was 2.61x as high.

We then repeated the comparison across 10 industries. Actively managed locations appeared on a larger share of checked platforms in every industry.

Why this study comes first

This first study measures whether each physical business location appears on checked third-party platforms. Study 2 tests whether wider presence goes with more customer actions. Study 3 tests whether more frequent updates go with more actions.

The first chart shows the share of checked platforms where Scout found a live listing. Read each row from gray to blue. The gap stays wide at every business size, from one location to 500 or more.

Paired-dot chart showing that actively managed locations appeared on a larger share of checked platforms overall and in each business-size group. — Actively managed locations appeared on more platforms at every sizeYext Research · Fig 1 · August 29, 2026

The next chart repeats the same test in 10 industries. Every blue dot sits to the right of its gray dot. Actively managed locations appeared on a larger share of checked platforms in every industry. The size of the gap changes, but its direction does not.

Paired-dot chart showing that actively managed locations had a higher platform presence rate than comparison locations in each of 10 industries. — Actively managed locations were found more often in every industryYext Research · Fig 2 · August 29, 2026

AI engines look in different places

Four leading AI engines answered the same 491,972 local questions. The short bar shows that all four chose the same top location only 4% of the time. The long bar shows that all four chose different locations 48% of the time.

Horizontal bar chart showing that all four AI engines chose the same top location for 4 percent of matched questions and chose four different top locations for 48 percent. — AI engines rarely chose the same top locationYext Research · Fig 2a · February–August 2026

The next chart helps explain why the answers varied. Each bar shows the mix of sources one AI engine cited. The mix changes by engine, so broad presence gives a location more ways to be found across different systems.

One hundred percent stacked bar chart showing that citation source mixes vary substantially across four leading AI engines. — AI engines relied on different source mixesYext Research · Fig 2b · February–August 2026

91%

When all four AI engines agreed on the top location, 91% had their own website among the cited sources.

Category directories and mapping services appeared 1.6 to 2.6 times more often when all four engines agreed. This is why platform presence is the base layer for the next two studies. Broader, consistent presence gives search and AI systems more places to find and compare the same location facts.

+150%

Locations on 50 or more live platforms received 150% more total customer actions the next month than locations on 1 to 20.

Study 02

Platform Presence and Next-Month Customer Actions

The second study counted how many platforms carried a live listing for each location in one month. It then counted calls, website clicks, directions and total customer actions in the following month.

Locations on 50 or more live platforms received 150% more total customer actions the next month than locations on 1 to 20. Calls were 110% higher, website clicks were 163% higher and directions were 161% higher.

The total-action result was higher in every business-size group: 55% for one-location businesses, 33% for businesses with 2 to 49 locations, 35% for businesses with 50 to 499 locations and 169% for businesses with 500 or more locations.

Each dot is one location in one month. The wide spread shows that action totals vary greatly from location to location. The gray line follows the middle result for locations with similar platform counts. It rises as the live platform count increases.

Scatter plot of actual location-month records showing live platform count and total customer actions in the next month. The light gray line shows the median within five-platform groups. The 120 highest values sit outside the view. — More Live Platforms Went With More Total Customer ActionsYext Research · Fig 3 · July 2025–July 2026

The scatterplot shows the full range. The next chart turns that spread into three simple platform groups. Average actions rise from each group to the next. The 50-plus group averaged 150% more actions than the 1-to-20 group.

Three-bar chart showing average next-month customer actions: 295 for 1 to 20 live platforms, 523 for 21 to 49, and 737 for 50 or more. — Customer actions rose across three platform groupsYext Research · Fig 3b · July 2025–July 2026

The final chart separates calls from total actions and repeats the comparison at each business size. In every row, the 50-plus-platform dot sits to the right of the 1-to-20-platform dot. The size of the gap changes, but the direction stays the same.

Paired-dot chart comparing average next-month calls for locations on 1 to 20 platforms and 50 or more platforms overall and in four business-size groups. The 50-plus group averaged more calls in every row. — Locations on more platforms averaged more calls at every sizeYext Research · Fig 4 · July 2025–July 2026

Study 03

More Real Updates Went With More Customer Actions

The third study grouped businesses by the number of days they changed customer-facing information. It then counted Google calls, website clicks, direction requests and total actions the following month.

An update day counts only when at least one customer-facing fact changed. Automatic counters and system-tracking changes do not count. The chart separates brands into four size groups. Read each panel from no update days to four or more update days. Every line rises, so the same pattern appears at every size.

Four line charts, one for each business-size group, plotting average total Google actions in the next month for zero, one, two to three, and four or more update days. — More Update Days Went With More Customer ActionsYext Research · Fig 5 · August 2025–July 2026

What you can do

Three practical steps

Know Where Each Location Appears

Track which third-party platforms have a listing for every physical business location.

Track Customer Actions After Updates

Track calls, website clicks and direction requests in the month after customer-facing information changes.

Compare Customer Actions by Platform Presence

Track calls, website clicks, directions and total actions for locations with narrower and broader live presence.

Questions readers ask

What the findings mean

Does “actively managed” capture every way a location can be managed?+

No. In this report, “actively managed” means Yext Listings was live at both checkpoints, 90 days apart. Some comparison locations may manage their information another way. Yext provides the management signal we can verify.

Why measure customer actions in the following month?+

It keeps the order clear. The study measures platform coverage or update activity first, then counts calls, website clicks and direction requests in the next month.

What does an update day mean?+

It is a day when customer-facing information changed, such as hours, phone, website, categories or services. Several fields can change on the same day, but that still counts as one update day. Automated counters and maintenance events do not count.

What can we confidently take from the results?+

Locations with broader platform coverage averaged more customer actions the next month. Locations updated on more days showed the same general pattern. Brand demand, industry and location size may also affect action volume.

Methodology

How this was measured

Locations: The main study covers physical business locations in North America and Europe. Each location appears in only one study group.
Groups: Actively managed locations had live Yext listings at the current check and 90 days earlier. Comparison locations had no Yext listing evidence. Some comparison locations may still be updated by their owners or agencies.
Platform Presence: Yext Scout checked whether a listing was found on each third-party platform for that location. The presence rate is found listings divided by checked platforms.
Name, Address and Phone: Exact name, address and phone matching results are not included in this report. Platform presence records whether a listing was found on a checked platform.
Real Updates: A real update changes a customer-facing value. The study includes names, addresses, phone numbers, websites and descriptions. It also includes hours, categories, services and other public details. Daily counters, computed fields, geocoding and platform-maintenance events did not count.
Customer Actions: Study 2 counts live platforms in one month, then counts calls, website clicks, directions and total actions in the following month. The headline compares 1 to 20 live platforms with 50 or more.
Update Frequency and Customer Actions: Study 3 counts real update days in a month, then counts Google calls, website clicks, direction requests and total actions in the following month. Each business gets the same weight, so large brands do not dominate the average.
Time Order: The study first counts real update days in one month. It then counts calls, website clicks, direction requests and total actions in the following month.
Minimum Sample: Every business-size and update-frequency result included at least 291 businesses. The report shows the exact business counts for the one-update and zero-update comparison.

Study population note. ATMs, cash machines and individual professional profiles are excluded.