Don't you just LOVE spending extra administrative time managing the digital profiles for your business?
(Same.)
Apple Business Register offers formal business listings, similar to how Google My Business works with Google Maps. The difference, however, is that if you do not set up your "Places on Maps" profile, then your stuck with whatever Yelp thinks should be included in your listing. Or, even worse, it pulls from Tip Advisor! ?
We recommend claiming your business on Apple's "Places on Maps" for the same reason we encourage you to create an official Google My Business profile: To validate and improve your digital presence.
Having a map-specific listing allows your brick-and-mortar business to show up when people are searching for similar products and services in their area on a mobile device.
If a potential customer is looking for coffee shops near them, and Yelp (incorrectly) thinks your business has permanently closed, then they're going to grab a cappuccino from somewhere else.
By claiming your business, you can assign the correct hours of operation, add your phone number and website, and assign a specific category to help get your business seen.
First, if you don't have one already, be sure to create an Apple ID as this is how you'll log into the website.
Go to Places on Maps and search for your business. Select from the available options if you see your business pop-up, or click on "+ Add a missing place" in the dropdown menu.
If you haven't yet, approve the Terms of Use. This verifies that you are either the business owner or manager who has legal authority to create the business profile. You're also agreeing to enter all accurate information into the business profile. Apple also has the right to change any of this legal jargon at any given time. ?
Complete your profile information. This will include a small handful of questions, including your address, phone number, website, primary business category. Keep in mind the phone number you enter here will be the phone number Apple will call to verify your listing!
Verify your business. Similar to Google, you'll need to use a valid phone number in the profile setup so you can answer an automated call to verify your business. But, unlike Google, Apple also gives you the option to upload an "official document" the provides your business details.
Wait... Apple Business Registrar will review your profile and any documentation before verifying your business listing in "Places on Maps." After you've been verified, you can enhance your profile and create App Clips.
Apple's App Clips allow users to take specific actions such as placing an order for coffee online. Simple App Clips can be created in Apple's Business Manager, while others will require custom development. There are a lot of options here, depending on what you want your Apple users to be able to do when viewing your place in Apple Maps!
In all of your spare time as a business owner ? log into Apple Business Registrar and create/claim your "Places on Maps" listing. While it's not something you have to do, we highly recommend taking the 15-30 minutes to do it, in order to further improve your digital presence!
P.S. Here's a link to our privacy policy that literally no one asked for.