Look it’s no secret, here at Bang Digital we are all things Google. From SEO to AdWords and all things in between, that little G icon pervades a very large proportion of our working day. However, at the end of day we love our clients, and what is valuable to their businesses is valuable to us - enter Apple Maps.While Google Maps dominates the field when it comes to maps users (1 billion to Apple’s 55 million at the middle of 2016), there were 1 billion iOS devices in active use in this big wide world of ours as of the beginning of 2016. While it’s well documented that the Apple Maps interface hasn’t been as well received as Google’s, consider how the use of Apple Maps will grow in the hands of those 1 billion Apple device owners? - we bet exponentially. So how exactly is Apple Maps valuable for business? We’ll there are no definitive numbers here as Apple has remained tight lipped about its Maps data. What we do know is that maps apps overall are an integral component of local search and that local search accounts for bigger and bigger chunks of all internet based searches.Sorry Apple but Google has the stats when it comes to local search - so let us dazzle you!Why you should use Maps for businessAccording to a 2014 study:

• 50% of consumers who conducted local searches on their smartphone visited a bricks and mortar store within a day and 34% who searched on computer or tablet did the same.

• Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches - 18% for local and 7% for non-local.

• 4 out of 5 consumers who used local search looked for store address, business trading hours, product availability and directions.

What you need to do (or get Bang Digitial to do for you!)

1. Make sure your business appears on Apple Maps

Grab yourself an Apple device, open Maps and search for your business. Make sure you try all of the variations below just to be safe:

• business name + city
• business name + city + state
• business name + street address
• business name + street address + city
• business name + street address + city + state
• business phone number

If your Apple Maps listing does not show up for any of these queries, you can try the “Report a Problem” function or see point 3 below.

2. Make sure your business information is up to date

Personally it is infuriating when I jump in my car and drive to a cafe, restaurant, bar or ‘other’, for it not to be open when it’s business listing details says it’s meant to be! Don’t frustrate your current customers or your potentially new ones by not keeping your business details up to date on Apple Maps (and across all other channels for that matter too).

3. Make sure your Yelp profile is up to date - if you don’t have one get one.

Apple Maps pulls reviews and other business data from Yelp, TripAdvisor and Booking.com. If your business doesn’t fall into the travel/accommodation/ hospitality category, create a Yelp profile ASAP. In line with point 1, if your business is not coming up in Apple Maps search, a Yelp profile can do the trick. Look into getting at least positive reviews from your customers, which are displayed in the Apple Maps listing for your business.While Google is the main player in the local search game, being across Apple is a must do in the digital landscape. If you haven’t thought about how your business is represented in local search, our team are here to start the conversation. Get in touch today!