Oh look! Another outlet where you must claim your page and verify your business!

Not to be outdone by Google+ Pages, Apple has introduced Apple Maps Connect. This new service allows you to, wait for it, claim and verify your business page. While Apple works closely with services like Yelp to serve local results for businesses and places, Maps Connect is a direct route to Apple where you can take control of your business on, arguably, one of the most popular mobile mapping solutions.

I say “arguably” because Apple Maps has been the defacto map app (try saying that three times fast) since Google-supplied maps were replaced iOS 6 back in 2012. More recently, Apple has made large strides to include a desktop mapping client right in Mac OSX Mavericks and Yosemite. Combining Apples significant desktop market share with the ever-growing number of iPhones and iPads in circulation, and you have a deep level of map market saturation.

If we are to assume that a vast majority of iOS users are apathetic to which mapping solution they use, then we realize that Maps Connect has the potential to reach tens of millions of possible users. These users rely on Apple maps to find, route, and navigate them on a daily basis. They are using this to look for reviews and place calls to businesses. With Maps Connect, you can also include links to your web page and social media accounts, emphasizing the importance of brand and connectedness.

Again, similar to Google+ Pages and Yelp, Maps Connect gives you another opportunity to create consistent NAP (name, address, and phone number) for users of Apple Maps. This is invaluable, in part, thanks to Apple’s historically less-than-accurate map pins, but also so that you can provide rich information about your business, such as hours of operation and current phone number. This platform also has importance in the future, what with Apple Pay launching this week.

… and yes, Incredible Marketing has added claiming and optimizing your Apple Maps listing as a part of what we’ll be doing for all of our SEO clients. If you’re interested in the services we provide — beyond just Maps — give us a call at (800) 949-0133 or schedule a one-on-one.

Erving

Incredible Marketing

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