- Google is where most local search happens, but it is not the only map. Every iPhone defaults to Apple Maps, and most US phones are iPhones.
- Apple Business Connect is free and reaches more than a billion Apple users across Maps, Siri, Spotlight, and Wallet (Apple).
- Bing is small but real: it carries around 10% of desktop search (StatCounter) and feeds Microsoft Copilot.
- Claiming these is low effort and mostly one-time, and few local competitors bother, so it is reach you can take cheaply.
- Consistency pays twice: matching info everywhere makes you about 40% more likely to appear in Google's local pack (BrightLocal).
- It is not where you start. RMCM sets up Apple Maps and Bing Places after the Google foundation is solid, as part of Local SEO.
Picture the last time you watched someone find a local business. If they were on an iPhone and asked Siri, or tapped the maps app already on their home screen, they were not on Google. They were on Apple Maps. And almost no local business has bothered to claim that listing.
That is the whole opportunity. Google is where most local searches happen, so it comes first, full stop. But it is not the only map customers use, and the others are nearly empty of competitors. Claiming and aligning your Apple Maps and Bing listings is low effort, mostly a one-time job, and it hands you free reach plus the cross-platform consistency that quietly strengthens your Google ranking too. Here is how to think about it, and where it belongs.
Why is the map you're ignoring the one in every iPhone?
Because the iPhone does not open Google Maps by default, it opens Apple Maps. When someone taps an address in a text, asks Siri for directions, or searches in Spotlight, Apple's own map answers. On a device most of your customers are carrying, that is a storefront you may not even know you have.
And it is not a niche device. More than half of US smartphones are iPhones (Statista, 2026), each one defaulting to Apple Maps, Siri, and Spotlight. Apple says its business listings reach more than a billion Apple users across Maps, Messages, Wallet, and Siri (Apple, 2023). The reason this matters for you is simple: that audience is real, and your competitors almost certainly have not claimed it.
How big are Apple Maps and Bing really, and who uses them?
Smaller than Google, bigger than you think, and concentrated in places that matter. Neither will replace your Google presence, but each reaches a real slice of customers Google does not have to itself. The point is not size, it is that the reach is free and uncontested.
Apple Maps rides the iPhone. With most US phones being iPhones and Apple Maps as their default, it is the second-largest mapping platform by audience. Bing is the quieter one: around 5% of all search but closer to 10% on desktop, and it feeds Microsoft Copilot and Windows search (StatCounter, 2026). The chart below shows the reach of each platform worth claiming. Toggle between US and global.
Reach of each platform worth claiming
Relative local reach, indexed to Google at 100. Toggle between the US and global picture.
How do you claim and optimize your Apple Maps listing?
Through Apple Business Connect, Apple's free tool for managing how your business appears across Apple Maps and the rest of Apple's apps. You sign in with an Apple Account, prove you own the business, then claim and complete your place card. It is the Apple equivalent of claiming your Google Business Profile.
Once claimed, the place card is yours to control: name, address, hours including holidays, photos, logo, links, and actions like calling or getting directions. Apple lets you add Showcases, which are promotions and offers right on the card, and that same information surfaces across Maps, Siri, Spotlight, and Safari (Apple). As of 2026 these brand tools live inside Apple's new all-in-one Apple Business platform, but the job is the same: claim, verify, and fill it out completely (Apple, 2026). Match the details to your Google listing exactly, and you are done.
How do you set up Bing Places, and why bother?
Bing Places is a free listing, and if you are already on Google, setup takes about fifteen minutes because Bing lets you import your Google Business Profile directly. That import is the trick most businesses never hear about: it copies your details over so you are not retyping anything.
Why bother for a search engine with single-digit share? Because the share is not evenly spread. Bing runs closer to 10% on desktop, skews toward Windows users, and powers Microsoft Copilot, so the people on it are real customers you are otherwise invisible to (StatCounter, 2026). For a fifteen-minute, one-time task, claiming a slice of search nobody else in your market has bothered with is an easy yes. The chart shows where that search actually sits.
Not sure your listings line up?
Run a free RMCM audit. We check your site and local presence and flag where your details do not match across platforms.
START WITH A FREE AUDITWhy does consistency across every map strengthen your Google ranking too?
Because the same name, address, and phone number on every platform reinforces the accuracy signals Google relies on. Google does not read your Apple or Bing listing directly, but it does cross-check your details against the wider web. The more places agree, the more Google trusts the record.
This is a real ranking factor, not a nice-to-have. Businesses with consistent information across their citation sources are about 40% more likely to appear in the local pack, and citation consistency is repeatedly ranked among the top local search factors (BrightLocal, 2026). Claiming Apple and Bing is partly about their own reach and partly about closing the gaps where your name or phone number is wrong or missing. Managing your presence across Google, Apple Maps, and Bing as one clean record is exactly what good local SEO does (BrightLocal).
What consistency buys you
Relative likelihood for a business with messy listings versus a consistent one. Toggle the measure.
Where does this belong on your priority list?
After Google, not instead of it. This is the one rule that keeps the whole thing sensible: your Google Business Profile is the foundation, and Apple Maps and Bing Places are the cheap, high-consistency layer you add once that foundation is solid. Do them in the wrong order and you are polishing a side door while the front one sticks.
The stack below is the order I actually work in. Toggle between priority and the setup effort each one takes.
The order to claim your maps
Build the foundation first, then add the cheap reach. Toggle between priority and setup effort.
| Platform | Reach | Setup | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Most local searches | Claim, verify, optimize, gather reviews | First, the foundation |
| Apple Business Connect | 1B+ Apple users; every iPhone default | Free; claim and complete the place card | After Google |
| Bing Places | ~10% of desktop search; feeds Copilot | ~15 min; imports from Google | After Google |
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth listing my business on Apple Maps and Bing?
How do I add my business to Apple Maps?
Does being on Bing and Apple Maps help my Google ranking?
Is Apple Business Connect free?
Should I set up Apple Maps and Bing before or after Google Business Profile?
So is it worth it?
For most local businesses, yes, with one condition: get Google right first. If your Google Business Profile is claimed, optimized, and collecting reviews, then spending an afternoon on Apple Business Connect and Bing Places is some of the cheapest reach you will ever buy, because the price is just your time and the competition is asleep.
What most businesses get wrong is treating local SEO as a Google-only project. They never realize the iPhone in their customer's hand opens a different map, or that a fifteen-minute Bing import would put them in front of people they are currently invisible to. The businesses that win the whole local picture claim every map and keep them identical.
That is how RMCM runs local SEO: Google first, then Apple Maps and Bing Places, all kept consistent so every platform reinforces the others. If you want to know where your listings stand and what is missing, start with a free audit and we will map it out with you.
