[POLL] Do companies use Apple Business Connect?

It should be the big competitor of Google Maps. And yet Apple Maps fell short of expectations right away in 2012: Map data from TomTom was used, wrong directions were given, place names were misspelled and some places were even left out entirely.

When the first business listings were published, Apple Maps Connectwas released in 2014, the news flew slightly under the radar. In fact, Apple has made many of the tweaks to its map product have.

Skip ahead to January 2023. A big announcement came from Apple: They did Re-launching their listing service as Apple Business Connect, and local marketers were intrigued. In the end it looked pretty good. Finally, Apple users might consider switching to their device’s native Maps app. And more importantly, it was a new platform for discovering local businesses.

So where are we in five months? Are more users now adopting Apple Maps and are companies using Apple Business Connect?

Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: Who Uses What?

As for device preference, global market share data from StatCounter shows that the Android operating system takes the lion’s share, with an impressive 72% of the global market in the first quarter of 2023 and iOS around 27%.

However, in the past, Apple devices and iOS operating systems have been heavily favored by consumers in the United States. I vividly remember listening to an episode of The Vergecast a few years ago and being amazed by the “blue bubble” phenomenon. If you’re an iOS user, you’ll understand what I mean – but for all of us Android (or any other) users: Basically, Apple users hate us and our stupid green bubbles.

Market research shows that by 2023, Apple’s iOS will take between 55% and 57% of the US market share, while Android claims between 42% and 45% (segments use data from both). Financial Times And extra Research). But does that mean all iOS users will automatically opt for Apple Maps? Not necessarily.

While Apple Maps is exclusive to iOS devices, any user can download Google Maps. We polled our social communities on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to find out how consumers, overall, prefer Apple Maps vs. Google Maps.

• 88% of people use Google Maps compared to 12% who use Apple Maps.
  

It’s important to note that our social communities primarily cover an audience in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, so there will be a broader representation of Android users. But the results are amazingly clear: Google Maps is the clear winner!

In terms of justifying their choices, a few of our community volunteered their thoughts:

Obviously I’m very biased towards Google Maps and as an Android user it’s my default for everything anyway. My wife Debi plans all our trips via Google Maps (using saved lists) despite being an Apple user. Debi just finds Apple Maps frustrating compared to what she can do with G…

— Andy Simpson ???????? (@ndyjsimpson) May 18, 2023

When searching for travel destinations I like to use Google Maps as it links to Google reviews while Apple links to Yelp.

— Andrew Prince (@AndrewPrince16) May 18, 2023

It’s clear that despite many improvements to Apple Maps in recent years, users see Google Maps in a much more positive light, whether it’s because of better location accuracy, a more pleasant user interface, or the familiarity and trust in the linked Google reviews.

Do businesses use Apple Maps?

Whichever way you look at it, Apple has previously stated that Apple Maps has done so hundreds of millions the user.

When you spend so much of your workday in Chrome browsers (and generally stick to Google’s guidelines), it’s easy to forget to claim and optimize an Apple Maps listing. But if your business isn’t listed properly, you can piss off a lot of people – and many won’t find you at all!

“It’s important to make sure your business details are correct as Apple Maps is the default map app for all iOS devices. Also, you have to keep in mind that Apple Maps data is used in various other places, such as the DuckDuckGo search engine.”

– Claire Carlile, Bright Local

Who Claimed Their Apple Maps Business Listing?

We wanted to find out how many companies use the listing service. So we surveyed our customer base to find out 1) if they claimed their listing on Apple Maps and 2) if they did Before or after Apple Business Connect has been released.

• 58% of companies not have have claimed their Apple Maps business listing.
• Only 18% of businesses have claimed their Apple Maps listing since new features were released.

While that’s what we’d expect, it’s quite shocking to see that nearly two-thirds of companies don’t appear on their Apple business listings at all. In its simplest form for businesses, Apple Maps is a credible and vital platform to ensure consistency of your Name, Address and Telephone Number (NAP). Additionally, as Claire points out above, it’s also very important to consider what other services might be based on Apple Maps, such as: B. DuckDuckGo.

“Claiming and optimizing an Apple Maps listing is always one of the basic steps I suggest when working with a new client. Currently ABC doesn’t have as many “moving parts” as GBP – but make sure you familiarize yourself with the basics right from the start – name, address, phone number, card pin and any other fields available in the interface are. ”

– Claire Carlile, Bright Local

Do business knowledge via Apple Business Connect?

We also wanted to examine the level of awareness of Apple Business Connect among companies and whether those who claimed their listings are actively using the tools. While January’s announcement was covered in local SEO and digital marketing news, we know some of it may remain under the radar — particularly when it comes to Apple Maps. Has this knowledge reached the target group that arguably needs it most: small businesses?

Again, we surveyed our customer base and highlighted several of the Apple Business Connect features announced in January 2023 to gauge awareness.

• 59% of companies are unaware of the tools available through Apple Business Connect.
• Only 16% of organizations say they use Apple Business Connect capabilities.

Not surprisingly, a similar picture emerges, as just as many businesses that haven’t claimed their listings on Apple Maps are completely unaware of the newer listing tools.

With 8% of companies saying they are unsure, this suggests they are probably unaware of the listing tools available, although it is also possible that their listings are being managed and optimized by an agency or consulting partner.

The conclusion is: The awareness of Apple Business Connect is low. That means missed opportunities to enhance your business listing with engaging content, such as: B. professional and inspirational images, or to raise awareness of unique offers with custom showcase cards.

What should marketers do with this data?

First of all, if you haven’t already, claim your Apple Maps business listing! Whether you are a local marketer working with clients or a small business managing your local search engine optimization, you should consider claiming your business listings on prominent platforms as a fundamental element.

Next, make sure your key business information is showing correctB. Your NAP, opening hours, website and any other important information (e.g. restaurant menus, accepted payments, etc.).

Increase your efforts by optimizing your listing with Apple Business Connect tools. If you are a marketing consultant or agency, Talk to your customers and make sure you don’t miss any important offers or updates. The goal is to educate them about the power of these tools and encourage good communication so they stay informed. While they are probably (hopefully!) aware of the importance of their Google Business Profile, keep in mind that potentially millions of people use Apple Maps by default or visit alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo.

Are you surprised by these results? Has this information made you more likely to consider spending time in your Apple Maps listings? We hope you found it useful and that it gives you food for thought for your business or client(s)! Please let us know your thoughts on this at The Local Pack or through ours Twitter.

methodology

Our “Are you using Apple Maps or Google Maps?” consumer survey was conducted on Twitter within the BrightLocal Facebook group the local package, on Instagram stories and on LinkedIn. A total of 143 votes were received. It’s important to consider the small sample size and likely demographic limitations here, but it helps give us an overall picture of the current demand for Apple Maps in the local marketing world.

Conducted within our tool platform, the BrightLocal customer survey received 384 responses from local SEO consultants, agencies, single location companies and multi-location companies.