Aggregators seem attractive to every business, be it a marketing agency, a big corporation, or a little store. They save time by allowing you to change things like company hours all at once and maintain consistency of your information across several sites.

However, there are costs associated with such convenience:
Aggregator dashboards might make it more difficult to see where results actually originate. Even while Google generates over 90% of search traffic, utilizing an aggregator might give the impression that clients are coming from several sources. Knowing where to concentrate your time, energy, and marketing budget may become more difficult as a result.

  1. Unfinished Listings
    Google Business Profile provides special features that aren't available on other platforms, such as categories, qualities, and "More hours." You lose out on chances to improve your profile, assist Google in organizing your company data, and make your profile stand out in search results if you simply update what is often updated.
  2. Limited Features of Google Post
    Post types are not all created equal. Offer postings typically outperform conventional "what's new" updates on Google. However, you frequently lose access to Google-only features like deals or personalized calls to action because aggregators like Yelp, Facebook, and Apple attempt to standardize across platforms. Engagement is what informs Google that your content is relevant, and it suffers without them.
  3. The Risks of Ownership
    You don't have complete control over your listings with some aggregators, including Yext. Instead, by using a third-party API, you are effectively "renting" them. For instance, you may update your Apple listing using Yext's Apple API without having to create a Business Connect account or Apple ID. However, access to those listings is lost if you terminate the account. You should constantly take direct control of your profiles on all platforms in order to safeguard your company.

Ultimately, convenience has its limitations. Over-reliance on aggregator platforms may lead to loss of control over your own profiles, loss of important features, and blending into the crowd. Additionally, in today's cutthroat search environment, not standing out is equivalent to wasting money.