Do you run a location based business?

What does that even mean?

By location based business I mean: a business that operates out of a physical location. A physical shop, an office in the city, a restaurant, bar or hair dressing salon are all good examples.

I had a rant a while ago to encourage business owners to learn about the online implications of mobile search, maps and mobile tools in general and the impact they have on your business.

The implications of this are that there’s a new world of websites and services that you should be aware of and ensure that your business is listed correctly. Doing this means that when a possible new customer is standing in your suburb searching for “local restaurants” they’re going to find yours.

The reason I’m recapping all of this is the announcement from Apple recently. They have extended Apple Maps Connect for small business to now cover Australia. Meaning that business owners in Australia can claim their listing and update it to ensure that the details on the listing are correct. Things like opening times, a description of your business, your phone numbers, links to your profile on Facebook, Twitter,Yelp etc.. can all be managed once you have claimed ownership for your business listing.

iPhone and iPad users have Apple Maps as the default maps app on their devices. It’s what they’re going to use to search for business that are located around them or perhaps their next destination. This makes it a worthwhile exercise!

How to get started?

It’s pretty easy to do.

Start by heading over to MapsConnect.Apple.com – you will need to create a new Apple ID if you don’t already have one.

If you’re new to all of this you may like to also check out our earlier blog posts about Yelp.