Apple Business Connect is how a practice takes control of what iPhone users see when they tap its pin in Apple Maps: name, hours, phone, photos and a link to book. Apple has since folded it into a broader product: its support site now says "Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business," combining it with Apple Business Manager and Apple Business Essentials (Apple Support (opens in a new tab)). The steps below use Apple's current Apple Business guide.
It's one of the most searched listing tools: "apple business connect" gets about 18,100 searches a month and "apple maps business listing" 1,000 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). In Canada, the same terms get 1,600 and 260 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, Canada, 12-month average to Sep 2026).
What Apple Business Connect controls
Apple's Apple Business page (opens in a new tab) says you can "Claim your location on Maps" and control how it appears, including logo, hours, images and key details. Apple describes four Maps-related tools:
- Locations: the place card patients see "when an Apple customer selects your location in Maps" (About locations (opens in a new tab)).
- Custom Actions: buttons that let customers book or schedule appointments.
- Insights: how people discover your business.
- Ads on Maps: paid promotion, billed separately.
Apple lists "Brand and Location Management" as available in both the United States and Canada (Apple availability (opens in a new tab)). Apple publishes no ranking rules for places, and we make none up.
Claim or add your practice
Start with an Apple Business account for the practice (the next section covers verifying it), then add the location. From Apple's Add a single location (opens in a new tab) steps:
- Go to Brands > Locations, select Add Location, choose Add single location, then Next.
- Enter the practice name. If Apple Maps already shows it, select locate and pick it from the results. If not, choose "Add a new location with this name."
- Enter or confirm the address, then drag the map so the marker sits on your building. Apple suggests Hybrid or Satellite view to find the entrance.
- Enter details: display name, primary category, status (Open, or Opening Soon up to six months ahead), phone number with country code, and website.
- Set hours.
- Choose or create the brand the location belongs to. Apple says every location belongs to a brand.
- Finish verification if prompted.
If you see "This location is already managed," another organization controls it, often a former marketing vendor. You can add it anyway and request a transfer (below).
Verification and ownership
Apple verifies at two levels.
Your organization. Sign up at business.apple.com with the practice name, address and, optionally, website (Apple says a website "can speed up" verification). The person signing up must use a legal name. Then go to Settings > Organization > Verify Now and complete two different methods from these: a Business ID (such as a D-U-N-S Number or EIN), domain validation, App Store Connect, or an uploaded document such as a business license, lease or utility bill (Apple (opens in a new tab)).
Apple gives you 60 days to verify, says review can take up to five business days, and deletes the organization and its data if verification isn't completed in time.
A single existing location. If the place already exists on Maps, Apple may offer phone verification: it calls the number it has on record, and you enter a four-digit code. If you don't recognize that number, contact Apple Business support.
Transfers. For a location another organization manages, select Request Transfer, explain why, attach a document such as a business license or utility bill, and send it for review. Apple says that review "can take up to five business days."
Place card details for a practice
Apple's location attributes (opens in a new tab) that matter most for a practice:
| Attribute | Apple's rule | Practice tip |
|---|---|---|
| Display name | Your public name; alternate names per language | Match your signage and Google profile |
| Primary category | Exactly one, plus up to 19 more | Choose your specialty, not a generic "Doctor" if a closer one exists |
| Normal hours | Includes "appointment-only" hours | Use it if you don't take walk-ins |
| Special hours | Holidays and temporary closures | Add them before each holiday |
| Phone | Must include the country code; no extensions | Use the main line patients should call |
| Website | Your own site or Facebook, Instagram or TikTok; no third-party websites | Link your homepage, not a directory profile |
| Good to Know | Amenities such as payment methods and accessible parking | Fill in accessibility details patients ask about |
| Photos and cover photo | Reviewed by Apple before display | Exterior, entrance, reception |
Apple's photo standards (opens in a new tab) require permission from every person pictured and ban personally identifiable information, added text, AI-generated images and stock photos. For a medical practice, keep patients out of photos entirely.
If you add a booking action, the booking tool receives patient details. Use one that will sign a business associate agreement with your practice.
Practitioner names, departments and locations
Apple's guide, checked October 2026, organizes everything as brands and locations. It doesn't describe listings for individual practitioners or departments, so we can't tell you Apple supports them.
What that means in practice:
- One location per address. Each office gets its own place card. Apple says "whether your organization has 1 location or 1000, you can manage each location separately."
- Providers go in the description. Name your clinicians in the location's About text rather than creating separate places.
- Practitioner listings stay on Google. Google's guidelines describe when a practitioner can have their own profile and say its title "should include only the name of the practitioner" (Google (opens in a new tab)). Read the naming rules before you create any.
- Provider data elsewhere. Keep each clinician's NPI provider data consistent with the names you use on Maps.
Keeping Apple, Google and Bing consistent
Apple says customers can report a wrong listing "directly from your place card," and that Apple may then edit your name, status or hours and email your administrators, who can accept or contest the change (Apple (opens in a new tab)). Bing similarly merges Bing Places with third-party sources (Bing Places help (opens in a new tab)). Consistency across all three is your defense.
| Field | Bing | Apple | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Real-world name, no taglines or locations | Name customers know; no "best" or locations | Display name matching signage |
| Address | Same suite-level address | Same; include suite number | Same; marker on the building |
| Phone | Main line | Working number, extension allowed | Country code, no extension |
| Hours | Regular plus special hours | Regular plus special hours | Normal, special, appointment-only |
| Website URL | Your homepage | Your homepage | Your homepage (no third-party sites) |
| Categories | Primary plus additional | 1 primary, up to 9 more | 1 primary, up to 19 more |
Bing offers an import from Google; Apple's guide doesn't describe one, so plan to update Apple by hand. Set a reminder to check it whenever you change Google Business Profile or Bing Places. The full list of listings to keep aligned is in the online listings guide.
Common mistakes
- Signing up under a role name like "Front Desk" instead of a person's legal name.
- Leaving the map marker on the street or parking lot instead of the building.
- Linking the place card to a directory profile, which Apple doesn't allow.
- Uploading a staff photo with patients visible in the background.
Medfy doesn't manage Apple listings. Its free marketing audit checks your Google listing, which is usually the one to fix first.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple Business Connect free?
Apple's current pages list no fee for adding or managing a location on Apple Maps. The paid items Apple describes are Ads on Maps, extra iCloud storage and AppleCare+ for Business. Apple Business Connect is now part of Apple Business, and as of October 2026 Apple lists brand and location management as available in both the US and Canada.
Why does Apple Maps show my practice's old address?
Usually because nobody has claimed and updated the location, so Apple Maps still shows older data, or because another organization manages the listing. Claim the location in Apple Business, correct the address and drag the map marker onto your building. If someone else manages it, request a transfer with a business license or utility bill; Apple says review can take up to five business days.
Can each doctor have an Apple Maps listing?
Apple's Apple Business guide, checked October 2026, doesn't describe listings for individual practitioners. It organizes everything as brands and locations, with a place card for each physical location. List the practice at its address, mention providers in the location's About description, and keep individual practitioner listings for Google, where the rules for them are written down.