Apple just came out with a new service they are calling Apple Business Connect. It appears to be a direct competitor to Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). It’s basically a profile management tool to control how your business information appears in Apple’s platforms, such as Apple Maps. You can add photos, set your business hours, and promote upcoming events or offers.

Get Started

If you have a local business, you’re going to want to get started setting up your new Apple Business Connect profile as soon as possible. You can get started here.

Start by signing into your Apple ID and seaching for your business by it’s name. Choose it when it appears, and if it doesn’t, you can create a new location.

Confirm or enter your location information, the pin location on the map, language, website URL and display name.

Choose Your Categories Carefully

For your Categories, choose a Primary Category, which should be the main category your audience is searching. Then, choose an Additional Category that is still relevant to your business. It appears at this time only one additional category is allowed, so take advantage of it.

Get Verified

Finally, you’ll have to enter in your legal business info, such as the legal name and address, and get verified. You can get verified one of two ways:

1. Phone Call, which is instant. You’ll get a phone call from Apple to the number you entered in the legal business info section. You’ll hear a 4-digit code to enter for verification. We recommend this option, if possible.

2. Document Review, which can take up to 5 days. You’ll have to upload official documents for your business location.

Verification in Review

Once you go through the verification process, you may end up in a “Verification in Review” status, which can take a few days. During this period, you are limited to what information you can edit on your profile. For example, you can not access the Showcase, About, Phone, or Good to Know sections.

While you are waiting for the Verification in Review status to update, you should make sure any other information you can edit is accurate and filled out completely.

Adding Additional Locations

If you want to add additional businesses or locations, hit the dropdown in the top left corner, click All Locations, then, hit the Add button in the top right corner. Then it’s just repeating the process outlined here.