Local SEO advice is almost entirely about Google, and with reason: that is where most local searches happen. But "most" is not "all". Every iPhone ships with Apple Maps as its default. Siri and CarPlay use it. Bing sits behind Microsoft's Copilot and supplies results to several other search products. A business that is correct on Google and wrong, or missing, on these two is turning away customers it never knew were looking.
Both listings are free, both take under an hour to set up, and most of your competitors have not bothered.
Apple Maps: Apple Business Connect
Apple Business Connect is Apple's free tool for managing how a business appears in Apple Maps, and by extension in Siri, Spotlight search, Wallet and CarPlay. Your business is very likely on Apple Maps already, built from third-party data that may be years old. Claiming it lets you correct it.
Who is actually using it
Anyone who taps an address on an iPhone and has not installed another maps app. Anyone who says "Hey Siri, find a tire shop". Anyone using CarPlay for directions. That is a particular kind of search: people already on the move, about to visit or call. It matters most for businesses customers travel to, and for anything urgent.
Setting it up
- Go to Apple Business Connect and sign in with an Apple Account. Use one that belongs to the business, not a personal one that leaves with an employee.
- Search for your business and claim it, or add it if it is missing.
- Verify. Apple usually does this with a phone call to the listed number or by asking for a document that shows the business name and address.
- Check the pin. Apple's map pins are wrong more often than Google's, especially for units in business parks and shops inside larger buildings. Drag it to the entrance.
- Correct the name, address, phone, website, hours and categories so they match your Google profile exactly.
- Add a logo, a cover photo, and a handful of real photos.
- Choose action buttons that suit the business: call, book, order, get a quote.
The features worth using
- Showcases. Short promotional cards on your listing for an offer, a seasonal service, or news. Similar in spirit to Google's posts.
- Action links. Buttons that send people straight to your booking or ordering page.
- Insights. How many people found the listing, what they searched for, and whether they tapped for directions or to call.
How reviews work there
Apple does not have a written review system of its own in the way Google does. Listings show ratings gathered from Apple Maps users, and in many categories they also display reviews supplied by partners such as Yelp. The practical point: if your Yelp page is unclaimed and showing two old complaints, that may be what an iPhone user sees beside your name. Claim the Yelp listing, correct it, and reply to what is there, even if you never intend to advertise on it.
Bing: Bing Places for Business
Bing Places is Microsoft's equivalent of a Google Business Profile. Microsoft rebuilt it in October 2025 and moved it into Bing's main site, with a simpler dashboard and a much improved import from Google.
Why a search engine with a small share still matters
- It is the default on Windows. The Edge browser and the Windows search box both use Bing. Office workers searching from a company computer are often on it without having chosen it.
- It feeds other products. Microsoft Copilot is built on Bing, and Bing's index supplies results to a number of other search engines and assistants.
- The audience skews older and more desktop-based, which suits many professional and home services well.
- Competition is thin. Many local businesses have an unclaimed or badly outdated Bing listing. Being accurate is often enough to appear first.
Setting it up
- Go to Bing Places for Business and sign in with a Microsoft account owned by the business.
- Choose to import from Google Business Profile. This copies your name, address, hours, categories and photos, and is by far the quickest route.
- Review what came across. Categories do not always map neatly from Google's list to Bing's, so check them by hand.
- Verify if asked. Imported listings from a verified Google profile are often verified automatically.
- Work through the dashboard's recommendations to fill any gaps.
The import is a copy, not a live link. When your hours or phone number change on Google, you must update Bing as well, or run the import again.
Keep all three identical
The reason this matters beyond the direct traffic is consistency. Search engines, maps and AI assistants all cross-check what they know about a business against other sources. When Google says you close at five, Apple says six, and Bing shows the address you left in 2022, none of them can be sure, and a machine summarizing the web about your business may repeat whichever version it meets first.
Pick one master record of your name, address, phone, hours and categories, and make every listing match it character for character. Our citations guide covers the wider set of directories, and AI search for small business explains why consistent facts now carry more weight.
A half-yearly, twenty-minute routine
- Open each of the three listings and compare them against your master record.
- Update holiday hours on all three before each holiday. This is the detail most often wrong.
- Add two or three recent photos to each.
- Look at the insights on Apple and Bing for searches you had not expected.
- Check that the account logins still work and belong to the business.
How much effort this deserves
Be proportionate. Google remains where the large majority of your local visibility comes from, and your first hours belong there: start with our Google Business Profile checklist. Apple and Bing are a one-off hour each, plus the short check above. For that, you get accurate details in front of every iPhone and Windows user who looks for you, which is a good return on two hours.
Claiming and maintaining these listings is included in our local SEO service. To see what each of them currently says about your business, request the free audit.