• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
more customers more sales logo

More Customers More Sales

Local SEO & Google My Business Product Expert

MENUMENU
  • Services
        • Google My Business Help
        • Google My Business Management
        • Local SEO
        • Citations Campaign
        • WordPress Websites
        • WordPress Maintenance
        • Google Analytics
  • Blog
  • About
        • Meet Margaret
        • Policies
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms & Copyright
          • Legal Stuff
          • Billing & Refund Policy
  • Resources
        • Local SEO Discovery Centre
        • Google Maps Spam Reporting Guide
        • Best Review Sites
        • Google Posts Guide – 2020
        • Google My Business Website Builder Complete Guide (2020)
        • Local Search Terms Explained
        • Helpful LinksLinks for Google My Business support, Bing, and so much more. Hard to find links.

Data Aggregator

published: 10 November, 2016 · updated: 4 December, 2020

An aggregator is a company who collects business information to resell for a profit.  These are also known as data aggregators or data providers.

They will use a variety of sources to harvest and corroborate the information including: public records, phone directories, high-profile business directories, newspapers and even phone calls to businesses. Keeping the data clean and up to date is an expensive and almost impossible task. It is common for aggregators to have duplicate or completely incorrect information about a given business.

The data they collect gets resold to online business directories, online review sites, corporations navigation services, search engines, etc.

As part of your citation audit, you’ll want to search these aggregators for your business.  Look by name and by location – it’s not uncommon to find your business in a completely different place!

Why do aggregators matter?

Aggregators are an important part of managing your business citations and are one of the top priorities.

As search engines “research” information about a business, one of the sources of validation they use is from aggregators.  If that information is consistent, the business gets a higher level of trust from the search engines.  The higher and more consistent the information about your business, typically the better the placing in the local search results.

They’re also used heavily by navigation services, so your customers are ultimately using their info.  If someone is using Apple Maps to navigate via their phone for example, they rely in part on data from these aggregators.  See Apple’s impressive list of  120 data providers:  https://gspe21.ls.apple.com/html/attribution-52.html

According to a series of studies by David Mihm there are four main aggregators for the US market:

  • Acxiom (dashboard)
  • Factual (find listing, login),
  • Infogroup, and
  • Localeze (dashboard).

There are a handful of other 2nd-tier players in this space as well. Moz has an excellent writeup on this subject if you want to know more details.

The image below gives a conceptual map of which information sources, information repeaters, and takers, so you can get an idea of how intertwined this network of data sharing is. The map is 2017 so some sites may not be up to date. You can still get the idea.You can see how pivotal these 4 main data providers are in spreading information about businesses around the web.

Information flow example: acxiom > yelp > yp.com. Seemingly simple, yet look closer and you’ll see factual feeds yelp, as does yp – wait…what?

The local Search Ecosystem from Whitespark & Tidings Coy Ltd
Overview of the Local Search Ecosystem in the USA

Data aggregator example

So what happens if there is different information between say factual and acxiom?

Depending on the differences, you could end up with duplicate listings, or the wrong listing taking dominance.

data provider acxion shares info to yelp
yelp then shares to yp which shares to yelp… ??

Key aggregators by country

They’re also used heavily by navigation services, so your customers are ultimately using their info.  If someone is using Apple Maps to navigate via their phone for example, they rely in part on data from these aggregators.  See Apple’s impressive list of  120 data providers: https://gspe21.ls.apple.com/html/attribution-52.html

Top USA data aggregators:

According to a series of studies by David Mihm there are four main aggregators for the US market:

  • Acxiom (dashboard)
  • Factual (find listing, login),
  • Infogroup, and
  • Localeze (dashboard).

There are a handful of other 2nd-tier players in this space as well. Moz has an excellent writeup on this subject if you want to know more details.

Canadian aggregators:

  • Yellow Pages
  • Industry Canada

Australia data provider:

  • Sensis

A secondary aggregator that seems to play a little bit of a role in the Australian market is Factual.  Of the large US ones, this is the only one who attempts to manage some international listings.

If you’ve ever done yellowpages advertising, there is a high likelihood Sensis will have incorrect or multiple versions of info about your business.  They will only deal with business owners, not agents, so this is one service you won’t be able to outsource.

First thing to do is hop online and search for your business in the YP.  Make note of the number of listings, which ones are correct and which ones are not.

If part of your ad package includes “listings” for areas where your business is not based, those entries can be dismissed.  Should you find duplicates or incorrect information about your business, call Sensis and request the information be corrected.

If there is no information, Sensis does allow you to add your business for free.

New Zealand data aggregator

  • Yellow

It’s a similar story to Sensis for Australia.  And you can add your business for free as well.

Not Sure Where to Start?

Let’s chat online or in person with coffee, tea, or your choice…

Click Here

Footer

Services

  •  Google My Business Management
  •  Local SEO Audit
  •  Google Analytics
  •  WordPress Services
  •  Request a Workshop

Looking for Something?

 Resources

  • Google My Business Support Links
  •  Helpful Links
  •  Local Search Terms
  •  Reviews Disappearing?
  •  
  •  Google My Business Website Builder
  •  Beginners Guide to Citations
  •  Google Posts Guide
  •  Step by Step: Detecting Google Maps Spam with Examples

SMS

call

hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00-5:30

PO Box 149
Korumburra VIC 3950
Australia

 Member Login

Copyright © 2021 · more customers more sales, All Rights Reserved Disclosure: We sometimes use affiliate links which means at zero cost to you, we may earn a commission if you buy something through our links.