Every iPhone ships with Apple Maps as the default. When an iPhone user asks Siri for "coffee near me" or taps a map result in Messages, Apple's data decides whether your business appears. Most local businesses never claim their Apple listing, which makes it one of the easiest visibility wins left.
This guide originally covered Apple Maps Connect. Apple replaced that tool with Apple Business Connect in 2023, and the old steps no longer work. Here's the current process, start to finish.
What is Apple Business Connect?
Apple Business Connect (businessconnect.apple.com) is Apple's free dashboard for managing your place card, the listing that appears in Apple Maps, Siri, Spotlight, CarPlay, Wallet, and Messages. It replaced Apple Maps Connect and does considerably more:
- Edit your name, address, hours, phone, and website
- Add photos, a logo, and a cover image
- Publish Showcases, promotional banners on your place card for offers and seasonal items
- Add action links: order food, book an appointment, reserve a table
- See analytics: how many people viewed your card, asked for directions, or tapped through
How to claim your business on Apple Maps
- Go to businessconnect.apple.com and sign in with an Apple ID. Use a company-controlled Apple ID, the same principle as your Google account, don't build the listing on a staff member's personal login.
- Search for your business. Apple has usually already generated a place card from public data, you claim it rather than create it. If nothing exists, choose "Add a new location".
- Confirm you're authorized to represent the business and fill in your legal business details.
- Verify. Apple typically verifies by an automated phone call to the business number, and sometimes asks for documents (a utility bill or business licence) for small businesses it can't match to public records.
- Once verified, complete the card: category, hours, photos, logo, and the "About" description. Then add an action link, if you take bookings or online orders, this button is the highest-value element on the card.
- Check your pin location. Apple's auto-generated pins are wrong more often than Google's. Drag it to your actual entrance, wrong pins send customers to the back alley.
Why this matters more in 2026
Apple's assistant features increasingly answer questions directly, and they answer from Apple's own place data, not from your website. If your card is unclaimed, those answers come from whatever Apple scraped: old hours, a dead phone number, no photos. Claiming the card puts you in control of what Siri and Apple Maps say about you.
It also rounds out your presence across all three map platforms. If you haven't yet, do Google Maps first, it's still the biggest, then Bing Places, which feeds Microsoft Copilot.
Keep all three listings consistent
Use the identical business name, address format, and phone number on Apple, Google, and Bing. Search engines and AI assistants cross-reference these listings; inconsistencies make them trust all of your data less. This consistency work is a core part of local SEO, if you'd rather have it handled, it's one of the first things we fix for clients.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple Business Connect free?
Yes, completely. Like Google Business Profile, it's free to claim, verify, and manage. Apple makes money from devices, not from charging businesses for listings.
What happened to Apple Maps Connect?
Apple retired it and replaced it with Apple Business Connect in January 2023. All listings carried over, but features like Showcases, action links, and analytics only exist in the new dashboard.
My business shows wrong information on Apple Maps. How do I fix it?
Claim the place card at businessconnect.apple.com. Once verified, you can correct the name, hours, phone, pin location, and photos directly. Unclaimed cards rely on scraped data that can stay wrong for years.
Do Apple Maps listings help my Google ranking?
Not directly, Google doesn't rank you higher because you're on Apple Maps. But consistent listings across major platforms strengthen the overall trust signals that local search and AI assistants use, and you capture the iPhone users who never open Google Maps at all.
I'm a service business with no storefront. Can I still be on Apple Maps?
Yes. Apple Business Connect supports businesses without a public address. Your card can show your service area and contact details without a map pin at your home.