Yext is a New York-based software company that helps multi-location organizations manage their digital presence across search, listings, websites, social channels, and customer feedback platforms.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Yext is a New York-based software company focused on digital presence management for brands and organizations with multiple locations, offices, practitioners, stores, or service areas. Its platform is designed to provide a central source of structured business information and distribute that information across search engines, mapping services, directories, social networks, websites, and other digital destinations. The company’s value proposition is built around accuracy, consistency, discoverability, and operational control: rather than requiring organizations to update each external channel separately, Yext gives them tools to manage core facts and customer-facing content from one system. The company was founded in 2006 by Howard Lerman, Brian Distelburger, and Brent Metz. It initially operated as a local advertising business, but later changed its commercial model toward generating customer leads and charging on a per-lead basis. The company reported revenue of $20 million in 2009. In August 2012, Yext sold its pay-per-call business to IAC’s CityGrid Media, allowing it to concentrate more heavily on listings management and the distribution of business information. By that time, it had raised $65.8 million in funding and was handling approximately 950,000 updates for 50,000 businesses. Yext subsequently developed into a broader digital presence platform. Its capabilities have included local listings management, business and location pages, social media-related publishing, reputation management, and tools intended to help organizations appear accurately in local and online discovery experiences. The platform is particularly relevant to enterprises whose customer acquisition depends on people finding nearby locations, services, professionals, or facilities through search and other digital channels. The company expanded during the 2010s. In 2016, it reported revenue of $89 million, enlarged its New York office presence, and was ranked number 60 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list. Yext became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017 under the ticker YEXT. In 2019, it announced plans to move its headquarters to 61 Ninth Avenue in New York City, a distinctive building designed by architect Rafael Viñoly. The planned March 2020 move was delayed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leadership changed in 2022 when founder and longtime chief executive Howard Lerman announced that he would step down as CEO. He was succeeded by Michael Walrath, who had served as chairman of Yext’s board since 2011. Yext remains positioned as an enterprise software provider serving organizations that need to coordinate location data, customer-facing information, and digital discovery across a fragmented online environment.
History
Yext was established in 2006 by Howard Lerman, Brian Distelburger, and Brent Metz. The business began in local advertising and initially pursued a model associated with generating customer leads. By 2009, after shifting toward lead generation and per-lead charging, the company reported revenue of $20 million. A significant strategic change came in August 2012, when Yext sold its pay-per-call business to IAC’s CityGrid Media. The transaction enabled Yext to focus its resources on listings and the management of business information across digital channels. At that stage, the company had raised $65.8 million from investors including Sutter Hill Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, and WGI Investments. It was managing approximately 950,000 updates for 50,000 businesses, illustrating the operational scale of its listings activity. During the second half of the 2010s, Yext broadened its software proposition beyond basic directory distribution. Its platform came to encompass local listings, webpages for businesses and locations, social media-related functions, reputation management, and other tools for controlling how organizations appeared throughout the digital ecosystem. These capabilities addressed a growing problem for multi-location brands: business facts such as addresses, hours, contact details, services, and local descriptions had to remain synchronized across search engines, maps, directories, social platforms, and owned websites. Yext reported $89 million in revenue in 2016. In the same period, it expanded its New York office footprint to approximately 95,000 square feet and was ranked number 60 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list. The company entered the public markets in 2017 with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2019, Yext announced that it intended to relocate its headquarters to 61 Ninth Avenue in New York City. The property, later associated with the company as the Yext Building, was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly. The relocation had initially been scheduled for March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the planned move. Leadership transitioned in March 2022. Howard Lerman, who had founded the company and led it as CEO, announced that he would step down. Michael Walrath became CEO after serving as chairman of Yext’s board since 2011. The leadership change marked a transition from founder-led management while preserving continuity through an executive who had already held a senior governance role. Yext’s business identity has remained centered on digital presence infrastructure for organizations with distributed locations or services. Its platform helps customers maintain structured business information, improve local discovery, publish location-oriented content, and monitor or manage customer feedback. The company therefore operates at the intersection of enterprise software, local search, digital marketing technology, and reputation management.
- 2022
CEO transition
[1]Founder Howard Lerman steps down as CEO and Michael Walrath succeeds him.
- 2019
New headquarters announced
[1]Yext announces plans to move to 61 Ninth Avenue in New York City, a Rafael Viñoly-designed building.
- 2017
Public-market listing
[1]Yext is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker YEXT.
- 2016
Expansion and Deloitte Fast 500 recognition
[1]Yext reports $89 million in revenue, expands its New York office footprint, and ranks 60th on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.
- 2012
Pay-per-call business is sold
[1]Yext sells its pay-per-call operation to IAC’s CityGrid Media and concentrates more closely on listings.
- 2009
Revenue reaches $20 million
[1]After moving toward customer-lead generation and per-lead charging, Yext reports $20 million in revenue.
- 2006
Yext is founded
[1]Howard Lerman, Brian Distelburger, and Brent Metz establish Yext as a local advertising business.
Products and positioning
Enterprise digital presence and local search technology for multi-location brands and organizations that need to maintain accurate, consistent, and discoverable information across many digital channels.
Enterprise digital presence management
Yext Digital Presence Platform
Yext’s central software platform is designed to help organizations manage how their business information appears across digital channels. It supports the coordination of structured facts about brands, locations, services, and organizations so that information can be distributed consistently across search engines, maps, directories, social networks, websites, and other customer-facing destinations.
Local search and business listings
Listings Management
Listings management enables multi-location organizations to control and update business information across external directories and discovery services. Typical information includes addresses, opening hours, contact details, categories, and location-specific attributes. The offering addresses the operational challenge of keeping data synchronized when a brand has many outlets or service locations.
Web content and local landing pages
Location Pages
Location-focused webpages provide customers with locally relevant information about stores, offices, practitioners, or service areas. Within Yext’s broader platform, these pages support local discovery and give organizations an owned web destination that can present accurate details, services, contact information, and other location-specific content.
Customer feedback and review management
Reputation Management
Yext’s reputation-related capabilities help organizations monitor and manage customer feedback across digital properties. For multi-location brands, centralized review and reputation workflows can make it easier to identify recurring issues, respond to customers, and maintain visibility into local sentiment across a distributed network.
Brand decisions
2022
Founder-to-successor CEO transitionStrategyBackground
Founder Howard Lerman announced that he would leave the chief executive role after leading the company since its founding.
Action taken
Michael Walrath, who had been chairman of the board since 2011, became CEO.
Aftermath
The change ended Yext’s initial founder-led CEO period and placed day-to-day leadership with an executive who had longstanding board-level involvement.
2019
Planned headquarters relocationStrategyBackground
Yext announced a larger and more distinctive headquarters location in New York City as the company expanded its office presence.
Action taken
The company announced plans to move to 61 Ninth Avenue, a building designed by Rafael Viñoly and associated with the Yext Building name.
Aftermath
The planned March 2020 move was delayed after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
2012
Sale of pay-per-call business to CityGrid MediaM&ABackground
Yext had begun as a local advertising and lead-generation business but was increasingly focused on business listings and digital information management.
Action taken
The company sold its pay-per-call operation to IAC’s CityGrid Media and redirected its strategic focus toward listings.
Aftermath
The transaction supported Yext’s development as a listings and digital presence software company rather than a broader local advertising operator.
Recent events
Reported
Yext launches Hitchhikers[2]
Yext launched Hitchhikers, a self-serve program that makes its Yext Answers site-search product available to a broader set of customers and provides resources for creating a site-search experience.
- Unconfirmed
Thryv launches Thryv Adapt[3]
Thryv, with Yext and Zipwhip, announced Thryv Adapt, a version of Thryv’s cloud-based software for U.S. small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, offered on a “pay what you can afford” basis.
Reported
SproutLoud and Yext announce collaboration[4]
SproutLoud announced a collaboration with Yext to make Yext search, listings, reviews and analytics technology available through SproutLoud's distributed marketing platform.
Reported
Yext announces ONWARD19 partnership with iHeartMedia[5]
Yext announced that Gavin DeGraw would headline the Evening Bash at its ONWARD19 conference, in partnership with iHeartMedia.
Sources5 sources
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