This article outlines the steps you can take in Yext to create location listings that are opening soon. We will also discuss recommendations for creating pages for this type of location. 

Some publishers offer Coming Soon functionality, where a label will be added to the listing. You can see which publishers support this functionality in the Coming Soon reference documentation.

 

Creating a Coming Soon Location Entity

Entities can be added to Yext at any point, regardless of the opening date. Licenses do not need to be assigned, and publishers can be left opted out. Adding entities early can avoid last-minute issues.

For a full guide on how to configure listings within Yext, including adding entities, publisher configuration settings, and automated launches, please see this guide.

To create a Coming Soon location:

1. Click Knowledge Graph in the navigation bar and click Entities.
2. Create an entity to store your new location’s information.
   1. Click Add Data
   2. Choose an entity type (e.g., Location, Restaurant) under Add a Single Entity.
      •  To add entities in bulk, see Add Entities Through Spreadsheet Upload.
   3. Fill out the required Name and Address fields
      • Note: Do not add  “- Coming Soon” to the entity `Name` field. Google & Facebook will automatically strip it on their respective listings.
3. Navigate to Knowledge Graph > Entities to update your entity/entities in the Knowledge Graph to add coming soon details. 
   • To edit multiple entities at once, visit the Edit Entities in Bulk article. 
   • Also, see the Create an Entity Template and Apply an Entity Template help articles to add a specific set of static/standardized information to your new entities. Templates can be applied manually, via ETL/API integration, or via Yext Connector. 
4. Fill out the Description field.
   1. Click on the Description field.
   2. Add a description and include a callout of “Coming Soon”.
   3. Click Save.
5. Fill out the Facebook Location Descriptor field (if applicable).
   1. Click on the Facebook Location Descriptor field.
   2. Add a location descriptor and add “- Coming Soon” after the location.
      •  Ex: (Phoenix, AZ) becomes (Phoenix, AZ - Coming Soon)
   3. Click Save.
6. Do not populate the Hours,  Closed, or Hours (Temporary Closed) fields. 
7. Add future opening dates.
   • Add the Open Date field if you are aware of the actual opening date of the entity
     • Note: Google only allows one update via the API to this field. Any further adjustments would need to be made in GBP directly.
   • Add the Open Month field if you are unsure of the actual opening date but are aware of the month.
     • If you are creating a custom Open Month field for the first time, you will need to reach out to Yext Support and request to configure your account settings to push the Open Month field to Google.
     • If only the opening month is known, assume the last day of the month is the open date.  For example, if a store is going to open in March, assume the open date is the 31st. The open month callout will remain on the Google listing until the following calendar month begins unless you add Open Date. 
     • As soon as the entity’s open date is known, add it to the Open Date field. This will push to Google and supersede the `Open Month` data. If the open date is completely unknown, do not launch on the publisher network. 

Entity Updates when Open Date is within 90 days

1. Update your Listings Configuration to automatically opt in the entity for Google, Facebook & Yelp only. Other publishers do not support Coming Soon functionality.
   1. Navigate to Listings > Configuration.
   2. In the Automatically Opt In column, toggle the setting to on for Google, Facebook, Yelp. If this is turned on, these publishers will be opted in automatically once licenses are assigned (see the next step).
   3. Click Save.
2. Assign the “Listings” license to your entities. Depending on your account configuration, you will use one of these options: 
   • If you DO NOT have saved filter license assignment (SFLA) set up, manually assign licenses
     1. Navigate to Knowledge Graph > Entities
     2. Check the box next to your coming soon entities 
     3. Click More Actions and select Add Services to follow the license assignment flow. 
     4. Once the license is assigned, listings will launch on Google, Facebook, and Yelp based on the configuration set up in the previous step.
   • If you DO have saved filter license assignment (SFLA) set up utilize Saved Filter License Assignment 
     1. Add coming soon entity to the saved filter criteria by updating relevant fields within entity edit (e.g., Live on Listings = Yes).
     2. Once complete, this will automatically assign the license and opt into Google, Facebook, and Yelp based on the configuration set up in the previous step.

 

Entity Updates On Opening Day

1. Edit your field data to reflect an open status, including:
   • Description
     • Remove the callout of “Coming Soon.
   • Facebook Location Descriptor
     • Remove “- Coming Soon” after the location.
   • Hours
     • Add your hours and Open/Closed status for the days of the week.
   • Note: This may be automated based on account configuration. For example, you can utilize scheduled updates to automatically update this data on the date of opening. You can also utilize another entity template, Yext Connector, or API/ETL.
2. Opt into the remaining publishers via the All Listings screen
   1. Navigate to Listings > All Listings
   2. Filter for your entity/entities and publishers using the dropdowns above the table
   3. Check the boxes for the entities you want to opt in. At the bottom of the table, click the Opt In option.