You search your own business on an iPhone and the Apple Maps card shows the wrong closing time, an old cover photo, or a phone number you stopped using years ago. A customer is standing outside a locked door because of it, or calling a dead line, or driving to a pin that sits half a block off. The fix lives in Apple Business Connect, and you can use it yourself. Apple describes the listing tool as free, and Apple now runs it inside a product called Apple Business. This post walks through what to check first, how to claim your place card, how Apple verifies you, what you can edit, and what stays out of your hands. You will also see how to keep Apple and Google telling the same story, so you fix it once instead of twice.
Key Takeaways
Search your business in Apple Maps on an iPhone and write down every wrong detail before you sign in to anything.
Apple describes Business Connect as free. Ads on Maps is a separate paid product, and you do not need it to fix your hours or phone number.
An existing location may verify by phone with a four-digit code. An organization can need two methods and up to five business days.
Yelp ratings on a place card are Yelp's content. Fix those through Yelp, and fix everything else in Apple Business.
How do I see what customers see on Apple Maps?
Before you claim anything, look at your listing the way a customer does. The management dashboard shows what you typed in. The place card shows what people actually get, and those two can disagree for weeks after a change.
Open Apple Maps on an iPhone and search your exact business name. Then work down this short list, and write each mismatch on one page:
- Is the pin on the right building, and does it point customers to the right entrance?
- Do the hours match what is on your door, including whether the card says open or closed right now?
- Tap the phone number. Does it reach you?
- Tap the website, booking, ordering or menu link. Does each one load the right page?
- Look at the logo, cover image and photos. Are they current?
If you can, pull up your Google Business Profile beside it and compare hours, phone, website and photos. Any difference between the two is a fix you need to make on one side or the other.
How do I claim my Apple Maps listing?
Sign in at Apple Business Connect with an Apple Account you use for the business. Apple's Business Connect tools now sit inside Apple Business, and Apple's support pages, updated in April 2026, still describe the same listing steps. Use a business account rather than a personal one, so the listing does not end up tied to someone who later leaves.
Apple's steps for adding a single location run in this order. Add the business or find it if it already exists, confirm the position of the pin on the map, then enter the display name, category, phone number, website and hours. After that you choose how to verify. Most of the work is typing facts you already know, so have your official business name, address, phone number and regular hours open in front of you before you start.
If the business shows up as already managed by someone else, Apple has a process for requesting a transfer of management. A former employee, an old agency or a previous owner is the usual reason. Start that request early, because it can take longer than a plain claim.
What does Apple Business Connect cost, and what does Apple ask for?
The listing tool costs nothing, according to Apple's own Getting Started guide. Paid Ads on Maps is a separate product, so a call from someone selling you "Apple Maps listings" is not a sign you must pay anything to correct your hours.
Verification depends on what you are claiming. Apple's verification guide describes two common paths:
- Phone verification for an existing location: Apple uses the number it already has on record and sends a four-digit code for you to enter. If that number is out of date, this path will not work for you.
- Organization verification: Apple can ask for two methods, such as a D-U-N-S number or EIN, a domain TXT record, App Store Connect, or official business documents. Apple says this can take up to five business days.
If the number on record is wrong, move to organization verification, and gather the two items before you begin so you are not stalled halfway through.
| Situation | What Apple may ask for | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Existing location, correct phone on record | Four-digit code sent to the number on record | Short, once the code arrives |
| Existing location, wrong or old phone | Organization verification | Up to five business days |
| Organization sign-up | Two methods, such as D-U-N-S or EIN, domain TXT record, App Store Connect, or official documents | Up to five business days |
| Location managed by someone else | Transfer request and verification | Allow several business days |
What can I fix on the place card, and in what order?
Apple lets an owner or authorized manager edit the display name, categories, location status, map position, phone number, website, hours, description, logo, cover photo, location photos and an app link, along with selected place-card attributes. Apple's location attributes guide lists them, and Apple says a place card can appear in Maps, Siri, Calendar, Messages and other Apple software.
Fix in the order that costs you the most customers first:
- Regular hours, then holiday and temporary hours.
- Phone number.
- Website and any booking or ordering link.
- Map pin and entrance.
- Logo and cover photo, then location photos.
- Category and description.
Hours go first because a wrong closing time sends a customer to a locked door. Our post on holiday hours and temporary closures covers the same trap on the Google side, and the habit is the same: update the exception before the day arrives.
Photos are the slower job, and Apple's photo guide explains how to add, edit or delete them. Use current images of your real storefront, interior or work, and drop anything that shows a layout or sign you no longer have.
Which extras are worth adding after the basics?
Once hours, phone, website and pin are right, two optional features can help customers act. Add them second, not first.
Actions are buttons that link a customer to a page for ordering, reservations, menus, pickup, delivery, tickets or your website. Apple's Actions guide says an Action needs approval before it appears, and approval can take up to three business days. If the URL is broken or the Action type does not fit your business, expect a delay while you replace it.
Showcases are short promotions with a title, body text, an image, dates and an Action. Apple reviews them, and its Actions for showcases guide recommends allowing at least three calendar days before the Showcase should go live. Once a Showcase is approved, Apple's edit or delete guide says you can generally change only the end date, so write the text carefully the first time.
Neither extra replaces correct hours and a working phone number. A Showcase for a weekend sale does no good if the card above it shows the wrong Saturday hours.
What can I not change in Apple Business?
Claiming a place card does not hand you control over every line on it. Apple's location documentation says a card can include data supplied by Apple and related partners. Apple's own Business Connect marketing material shows a Yelp rating on a place card, so a rating or review you see there is Yelp's content.
If a Yelp rating or review is the problem, take it to Yelp rather than to Apple Business. For wrong business details that you can control, claim and manage the location in Apple Business first.
If you cannot claim the location, or a customer spots an error that you cannot reach, Apple Maps has a way to report it. On an iPhone, open the place card, scroll to the bottom and use Report an Issue, as Apple explains in its Maps reporting steps. Use Apple Business first and the report second.
A claimed listing is also a way to get your facts right, not a way to buy a better position. Judge it by whether customers arrive at the right place at the right time.
How do I keep Apple and Google saying the same thing?
Customers do not care which platform they used. They care that the hours match the door. The simplest way to keep two listings in step is one information sheet that you copy from every time.
Write down the official business name, street address, service-area wording, phone number, website URL, primary category, regular hours, holiday hours and the photos you want shown. Update Apple Business and your Google Business Profile from that single page. Google asks businesses to be represented as they appear in the real world, on signage, stationery and branding, in its guidelines for representing your business. Its guide to editing your Business Profile lists the hours, phone, website, photo and service-area fields you can change there.
Match the facts, not the features. An Apple Showcase and a Google post are different pieces of content, so they do not need the same wording. Our post on local SEO citations explains why the same details across every directory matter, and the Apple listing is one more place to keep them straight.
When should I handle this myself, and when should I get help?
A single location, with an owner who can sign in and records that are accurate, is a do-it-yourself job at no software fee. Set aside an afternoon, do the check, claim the card, correct the facts and look at the card again on your iPhone. You do not need an agency for that.
Help starts to make sense when the job stops being one edit. That is the case when you run several locations, your hours differ across directories, a former manager or agency still controls the listing, there are duplicate locations, or verification keeps failing. It also helps when hours change often or booking links break, and when you want Apple and Google kept in step as a routine.
In those cases you are paying for coordination and follow-through. You are not paying for a promised position on the map, and nobody can sell you one.
Can you fix your Apple Maps listing yourself?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. What does Apple say the Business Connect listing tool costs?
2. How long can Apple's organization verification take?
3. A Yelp rating appears on your Apple Maps place card. Where do you fix a problem with it?
Frequently Asked Questions About apple business connect
Is Apple Business Connect free?
Apple describes the core listing tool as free. Ads on Maps is a separate paid product that you do not need to correct your details.
How do I claim my business on Apple Maps?
Sign in to Apple Business with a business Apple Account, locate or add your location, confirm the pin and details, and complete the verification method Apple offers you.
How is an Apple Maps business listing verified?
An existing location may verify with a four-digit code sent to the number Apple has on record. An organization can need two methods, such as a D-U-N-S number or EIN, a domain TXT record, App Store Connect or official business documents.
How long does it take for changes to show up?
Apple says organization verification can take up to five business days. Actions can take up to three business days to be approved, and Showcases need at least three calendar days. Look at the public card on an iPhone afterward to confirm the change.
Can I change Yelp reviews from Apple Business?
No. A Yelp rating or review on a place card is Yelp's content, so address it through Yelp.
Do I need an iPhone to manage the listing?
No. You manage it on the web at Apple Business Connect. An iPhone helps you see the card the way customers do.
Moving Forward
Your Apple Maps card is often the first thing an iPhone customer sees, and it is a small job to correct. Check the card on an iPhone, claim it with a business Apple Account, verify it, fix hours, phone, website and pin first, and add photos, Actions and Showcases after. Keep Yelp's content in Yelp and everything else in Apple Business.
Once the facts match your Google listing and your door, the work is mostly keeping them current. Put a reminder on the calendar before holidays and whenever your hours change, and look at the card again on your iPhone each time.
If you run one location, you can do all of this yourself. If you have several, or a listing that someone else still controls, Web Leveling can sort out who owns it and keep it accurate. Our local SEO work covers listings like Apple Maps next to Google and the rest. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Contact us about your Apple Maps listing, and we will tell you whether it needs our help.
Terms
Apple Maps listing words
Tap a term to see what it means.
Apple Business Connect. Apple's free tool for claiming and managing a business listing on Apple Maps, now part of Apple Business.
Place card. The business listing customers see in Apple Maps, with hours, phone, website and photos.
Action. A button on a place card that links to ordering, reservations, menus, pickup, delivery, tickets or a website. Apple approves it first.
Showcase. A short promotion on a place card with a title, text, image, dates and an Action. Apple reviews it before it shows.
Organization verification. Apple's process for confirming a business, which can need two methods and up to five business days.
Partner content. Details on a place card that come from other companies, such as a Yelp rating.
