Listings Claimed by Others

When a location is added to the GatherUp Listings Hub platform, we will automatically attempt to connect to most of the location’s existing listings that are supported by the directory list in your product plans. Exceptions to this include Google and Facebook, which both require the platform user to manually establish a connection to the existing listing.

For the majority of directories where the connection to existing listings is an automated process, there are two common use-cases for why the platform may not be able to establish a successful connection:

There are too many data inconsistencies between your Listings Hub profile and the existing listing. In order to automatically connect to a listing, our Listing Connector will reference the location’s name, address, contact information and category between the location’s Listings Hub profile and the existing listing in order to ascertain if the listing belongs to the same location prior to establishing a connection. If the existing listing is under a different name, has a different address or a different Google category this can result in the platform being unable to connect. These cases should be escalated to our Support Team (support@gatherup.com).

These occurrences can be identified by the presence of the red shield icon for the listing under your Directories tab:

The listing is still actively being claimed by another third-party and this is preventing the Listings Hub from establishing the automated connection (listings claimed by others). This typically occurs when a location has recently switched to the Listings Hub from a different local listings management partner who was previously managing their listings and can readily be identified by the presence of the CLAIM prompt for an individual listing under your Directories tab:

Note: There is an additional use-case wherein a business is actually employing two third-parties to manage their listings simultaneously, usually without realising it. This typically occurs when the business owner forgets that they have a subscription with a third-party on autopay and the conflict between the two third-parties in trying to claim their listings will result in listings variably being claimed by one third-party or the other on a per-directory basis. This is not a tenable state and the business owner MUST cancel one of their third-party listings management partners.

Occasionally, the business owner will be using two third-parties who both partner with the Listings Hub and we will be able to identify when this case applies. We will advise both partners of the situation so you can each communicate accordingly with the business owner with whom you share a direct relationship.

More often, the business owner will be using a third-party who does not partner with the Listings Hub and we cannot positively ascertain when this case applies. It can be deduced that a client may be working with another third-party if their location has been active in our platform for more than a month and you’re still seeing a significant number of listings that are unconnected, or if you’re seeing updates made to listings that aren’t connected in our platform. It is not possible to ascertain with certainty that this case applies if the client is using another third-party that doesn’t partner with the Listings Hub.

If you suspect that your client is, most likely unknowingly, still under contract with another third-party listings manager, you should advise them that you’re encountering difficulty in connecting to some of their listings and ask if they can confirm that they’ve cancelled ALL previous contracts with vendors they’ve worked with in the past.

The purpose of this guide is to help you to understand how to identify if you have listings that the Listings Hub can’t connect to because they’re still being managed by another third party, as well as which options are available to you for resolving these conflicts as expediently as possible.

Claiming a listing can be defined as receiving authorization from the hosting directory to manage that specific listing. This process pertains to two separate parties who are able to claim and manage a listing at the same time:

Listings can be claimed by the business owner so that the business owner can be an authorised party to manage the listing and make changes to their businesses’ information. Each of the directories we support have their own verification processes for business owners to claim a listing, most of which are contingent on the owner being able to authenticate their direct access to the businesses’ domain, mailing address or phone number. If a business owner has claimed a listing then they are the listing owner– i.e. the party with the authority to delete the listing or delegate access for other users.
Listings can also be claimed by a third-party listings management vendor who can manage and make changes to listings information on behalf of the owner, but cannot actually own the listing in-question. This is the manner in which the GatherUp Listings Hub and other third-party vendors are able to claim and manage listings on behalf of business owners.

Both parties are able to claim a listing simultaneously in order to manage it. The business owner is the only individual who can claim the listing directly, whereas only one third-party listings management vendor is able to claim and manage the listing on the owner’s behalf at any given time.

How we claim and manage listings

The GatherUp Listings Hub enjoys privileged relationships with all of our publication partners wherein we can claim the management of listings for locations that have been boarded into our platform and update their listings information, by using either an API connection or a file update protocol depending on the directory. Once a location is boarded into our platform we will automatically ping each of the directories included in the location’s product plan in order to claim its listings and begin publishing updates. We cannot, however, claim the management of a listing if the listing is still actively being claimed by another third-party listings management vendor.

In order for a listing to be claimed by the GatherUp Listings Hub (or any third-party listings management vendor), the listing needs to be in a claimable state. This means that any previous listings management vendor has both submitted a request to the listing’s directory to release the listing to be claimed by other parties, and that the directory has processed this request and placed the listing in a claimable state. Claim status by the business owner, which they’ve established as a first-party, does not affect or interfere with this process.

None of our publication partners will ever allow more than one third-party listings management vendor to claim a listing; in order for a new third-party to claim a listing, access for the previous third-party needs to be revoked. For all of the directories that we partner with, this request to revoke the claim status for a previously-authorised third-party to manage the listing needs to come from either the business owner directly or the previously-authorised third-party itself.

From the perspective of the directories who host the actual listings, this is an issue of authorization and authentication. They have an obligation to safeguard access to their listings on behalf of their end-customers to prevent malicious actors from being able to manipulate business information on listings that they shouldn’t be able to access. Should they fail to do their due-diligence in trying to prevent this from happening, they can face possible legal or regulatory consequences depending on the effect for the business and the jurisdiction in which it’s located. For this reason, the business owner and the existing third-party vendor that the owner had previously authorised to claim and manage the listing are the only two parties from whom the directory will accept a request to release a listing so that it can be claimed by another party.

While the Listings Hub enjoys a privileged relationship with our publication partners that’s based on mutual trust and we have the authority to claim claimable listings for locations in our platform, our publication partners will not accept requests from us (nor any other third-party) to revoke claim the claim status of another third-party that is still managing a listing on behalf of the business owner. They will also deny requests made to this effect on behalf of the business owner by any third-party other than the one the business owner had previously authorised to claim and manage their listings for them.

Managing expectations

When a business owner ceases service with a listings management company, it is standard industry practice for the former listings management company to send requests to all of the directories with which they have been managing listings for the business letting them know that they are relinquishing control of the listing and are no longer an authorised party to manage it. There are, however, obvious complications with this process that may result in us not being able to connect to a businesses’ listings:

The previous vendor didn’t do their due-diligence. If they never sent requests to their publication partners to relinquish listings after the business owner terminated service, the Listings Hub won’t be able to connect to the listings until either they or the actual business owner does so.
It takes time for directories to change listings to a claimable status. This is partially contingent on the type of connection that the previous vendor has with their publication partners– for instance, if they have a file-delivery protocol this request will take significantly longer to process than if they’re able to publish updates via an API integration. It also takes the directories time to process these requests and the amount of time needed is related to their turnaround time for publishing updates. Depending on the directory in-question and the type of connection that the previous vendor had with them, it may take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks from the time that the previous vendor submitted the request until the listing reverts to a claimable status so that the Listings Hub can connect to it.

NOTE: Not all listings management vendors will have the same type of connection with a given directory as the GatherUp Listings Hub. We may have an API connection with a directory where we can publish updates in real-time, but another listings management vendor may use a file-delivery protocol with the same directory that takes days or weeks to publish updates. This would significantly affect the turnaround time for that vendor to secure the release of listings they had previously been managing.

This process is liable to result in overlap wherein the business owner has ceased service with their previous vendor and begun service through the Listings Hub, but the Listings Hub is not able to immediately connect to some of their listings. Here are our recommendations for how you can address this issue with your end-clients and manage their expectations:

Explain to them that their previous vendor should have submitted requests to the directories hosting their listings that they need to be released to a claimable status so that you can begin managing their listings. If the client is especially concerned about you being able to update their listings again as soon as possible, you should recommend that they reach out to their previous vendor and obtain written confirmation that requests have been sent for control of their listings to be relinquished.
Explain to them that these requests take time for the directories to process and action. Even if their previous vendor submitted requests to relinquish their listings immediately upon end of service, it may take up to a few weeks for some of the directories to process these requests and actually make their listings claimable so we can begin managing them.
Make sure that they understand that they alone have the ability to expedite this process. As the business owner, they are the sole party other than their previous vendor who has the ability to reach out to a directory and request that their listing be made claimable again.
Make sure that they understand why we can’t “just fix this for them”, i.e. why the directories have to go through this defined process in order to transfer authority to manage listings and to prevent malicious parties from being able to access them.
Educate them as to the overall significance of the directories in-question. Directories where we commonly see delays in listings being made claimable are usually vertical-specific, or have low traffic relative to the directories that tend to relinquish control of listings more quickly. Unless the directory-in-question is of particular importance for the client’s vertical or there is a specific concern for why the listing for that directory needs to be updated immediately, it’s probably fine to just wait for the directory to go through its process.
Provide them with the appropriate directory-specific instructions below if they wish to contact a directory to release their listing to a claimable status so the Listings Hub can connect to it.
Advise them that the Listings Hub is checking the status of their listings that are claimed by other parties every 24 hours and that we will establish the automated directory connection as soon as the listing reverts to a claimable status.

iGlobal

Clicking the Claim button for iGlobal within the Directories tab will prompt you with the following template:

Here is the full text of the email template:

“Dear iGlobal team,

As I am managing my business online listings through a technical service provider, I kindly ask you to release the listing [INSERT LISTING LINK] or alternatively completely delete it, so that my business data can be automatically submitted and updated onto your directory.

Please inform me as soon as the optimisation of my online presence can be resumed.

Kind regards,

YOUR NAME”

To contact iGlobal:

Send the template above with your listing URL to reclaim.corp@iglobal.co

Chamber of Commerce

Clicking the Claim button for Chamber of Commerce within the Directories tab will prompt you with the following template:

Here is the full text of the email template:

“Dear Chamber of Commerce team,

As I am managing my business online listings through a technical service provider, I kindly ask you to release the listing [INSERT LISTING URL] or alternatively completely delete it, so that my business data can be automatically submitted and updated onto your directory.

Please inform me as soon as the optimisation of my online presence can be resumed.

Kind regards,

YOUR NAME”

To contact Chamber of Commerce:

Visit their Contact Us form here: https://www.chamberofcommerce.com/request-contact
Select the option for “I need help with my listing”:
Fill out the form with your personal information and include the template message with your listing URL in the Message field.

YaSabe

Clicking the Claim button for YaSabe within the Directories tab will prompt you with the following template:

Here is the full text of the email template:

“Dear YaSabe team,

Please inform me as soon as the optimisation of my online presence can be resumed.

Kind regards,

YOUR NAME”

To contact Yasabe:

Visit YaSabe’s Contact Us form here: https://www.yasabe.com/en/p/contact-us.html
Select “Wrong Owner” as the contact reason.
Check the box to certify that you are the business owner and add your listing URL:
Paste in the template for YaSabe above.

Judy’s Book

Clicking the Claim button for Judy’s Book within the Directories tab will prompt you with the following template:

Here is the full text of the email template:

Dear Judys Book team,

Please inform me as soon as the optimisation of my online presence can be resumed.

Kind regards,

YOUR NAME

To contact Judy’s Book:

Use the Judy’s book template above and send it to info@judysbookteam.com

Bing

Clicking the Claim button for Bing within the Directories tab will prompt you with the following template:

Here is the full text of the email template:

Dear Bing team,

Please inform me as soon as the optimisation of my online presence can be resumed.

Kind regards,

YOUR NAME

To contact Bing:

Use the Bing template above and send it to placesfeedback@microsoft.com

Listings Claimed by Others

When a location is added to the GatherUp Listings Hub platform, we will automatically attempt to connect to most of the location’s existing listings that are supported by the directory list in...