Apple Business Connect and Bing Places

Apple Business Connect and Bing Places are free tools that let you control how your business appears on Apple Maps and on Bing and its partner services. Most small businesses put all their attention into Google Business Profile and never claim these two. That's a mistake with a simple fix: together they take an afternoon to set up, and they cover customers that Google doesn't reach directly.

Who are those customers? Anyone who taps an address on an iPhone and gets Apple Maps, asks Siri for "a pharmacy nearby", uses a Windows computer with Bing as the default search, or asks Microsoft Copilot for a recommendation. Bing data also feeds other services, including some AI assistants. If your listing there is missing or wrong, those people see a competitor, or wrong hours.

Why these listings matter in Canada

iPhones are very common in Canada, and Apple Maps is the default map app on them. When someone taps an address in a message, asks Siri for directions or searches for a business from the iPhone home screen, Apple Maps often answers. Many of these users never open Google Maps.

Bing has a smaller share of search, but it's the default on many Windows computers and in Microsoft's Edge browser, which matters for business-to-business services searched from office desktops. It's also behind Microsoft Copilot and is widely reported to be one of the sources behind ChatGPT's web results. My article on getting mentioned in ChatGPT answers explains why that matters now.

What happens if you don't claim them

Your business may already appear on both, built automatically from data providers, directories and user reports. The problem is you don't control it. Common issues I find:

• Old address after a move, sending customers to an empty unit.
• Missing or wrong phone number.
• Wrong category: a dental clinic listed as "Health" or a bakery as "Grocery".
• Hours that were never updated, or no hours at all.
• A closed business shown as open, or an open one shown as closed.
• No photos, or a random user photo of your parking lot.

Apple Business Connect: step by step

1. Sign in at Apple Business Connect with an Apple Account. Use one that belongs to the business, not a personal account of an employee who might leave.
2. Search for your business. If it exists on Apple Maps, claim it. If not, add a new location.
3. Verify. Apple may verify by phone call to the business number or ask for documents showing you own or manage the business. Keep your business registration or a utility bill handy.
4. Complete the place card: category, hours, phone, website, and a logo and cover photo.
5. Add action links where relevant, such as booking, ordering or reserving, if you use a supported provider.
6. Use Showcases for time-sensitive updates such as seasonal services or new offerings. They appear on your place card for a set period.

For a service-area business without a storefront, check how Apple handles your type of business in its current guidance. Don't create a pin at a home address you don't want customers visiting.

Apple Maps has long shown ratings and reviews from Yelp for many places, alongside its own rating system. That's one more reason to make sure your Yelp listing is claimed and accurate. See local citations in Canada.

Bing Places: step by step

1. Sign in at Bing Places for Business with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account (options can change; use a business-owned account).
2. Import from Google Business Profile. This is the fastest route: Bing can pull your details from your verified Google profile. Check everything after import; categories don't always map perfectly.
3. Or add manually, if you prefer or the import fails.
4. Verify by phone, email or postcard, depending on what Bing offers for your listing.
5. Complete the profile: categories, description, hours, photos, website, and service areas if you visit customers.

While you're there, set up Bing Webmaster Tools for your website. Like Google Search Console, it shows which searches find you on Bing and flags indexing problems. It can also import your site settings from Search Console, so it takes minutes if that's already set up. If not, my Search Console guide is a good place to start.

Keeping three profiles in sync

The real work isn't the setup; it's remembering to update all three when something changes. A simple routine:

Keep a one-page document listing the exact name, address, phone, hours and description you use everywhere. Copy from it every time. Consistency matters for customers and for how search engines and assistants match your business across sources.

Do it once, then check twice a year

After the first setup, put two reminders in your calendar, for example in spring and in fall. Open each listing, compare it with your one-page reference document and look for edits suggested by users or data providers. It takes fifteen minutes and catches the slow drift that happens when details are copied between services.

How much difference will it make?

Honestly, less than Google for most local businesses, and that's why it gets forgotten. But the effort is small and the downside of a wrong listing is real: a customer driving to your old address because Apple Maps said so is a customer you probably lost. For businesses with many iPhone users among their customers, or B2B services searched from office computers, the share can be noticeable.

Where this fits

These listings are part of the "consistent details everywhere" piece of local SEO, alongside your Google profile, website and directories. The bigger picture is in the local SEO guide for Canada. If you'd rather not juggle three dashboards, I set up and maintain all three as part of my local SEO service, with every account owned by you.