- Apple Business Connect challenges Google’s dominance in Europe, signalling a competitive shift in digital mapping and business listings.
- Google maintains a vast majority of market share, but Apple’s strategic initiatives show promising growth, especially among tech-savvy urban consumers.
- Strategic advice for businesses: Prioritise optimising Google Business Profiles and Bing Maps before exploring opportunities with Apple Business Connect.
- The rivalry between Apple and Google promises enhanced services and greater accuracy for users, highlighting the benefits of competition in the digital mapping ecosystem.
In the dynamic landscape of digital mapping and business listings, Apple has launched a significant initiative with Apple Business Connect, challenging the long-standing dominance of Google in the sector. While Google Business Profile has been a staple in online mapping and business information, other players like Bing Maps, TomTom, and OpenStreetMaps have struggled to compete effectively. This article builds on the previous article, which covered the timeframe between August 2022 to July 2023 and focuses exclusively on developments in the entirety of 2023.
Deep Dive into Apple Business Connect
Apple Business Connect is Apple’s response to Google’s Business Profile. It is designed to enable businesses to manage their listings on Apple Maps, which is accessible to users of Apple devices and its ecosystem of built-in apps. This service provides businesses with a customisable card that appears on Apple Maps. These cards include vital information such as location, contact details, and photos, along with interactive features. These elements aim to improve a business’s visibility and accessibility not only on Apple Maps but also through Siri and Apple Wallet.
The introduction of Apple Business Connect could reshape the landscape of digital mapping and business listings in Europe. Given Apple’s substantial user base and the integrated nature of its ecosystem, businesses could benefit from enhanced visibility and customer engagement through this platform.
Comparing Apple and Google: A Tale of Impressions and Actions
When comparing Apple Business Connect and Google Business Profile, we must consider the unique features each platform offers:
- Map Impressions: Both Apple and Google show an upward trend in map impressions, encompassing both mobile and desktop views. While Google can display businesses on its search engine, Apple relies solely on map impressions. When comparing the two, be careful to exclude Paid Search impressions on Mobile Maps. These can be ranked up easily with little investment, but they are not as relevant as an organic impression, and as far as we know, Apple does not offer a similar way to boost your visibility with Ads.
- Search Impressions: Google stands out with its search impressions, spanning mobile and desktop searches. Apple, lacking its search engine, cannot provide this service.
- Actions: Actions are crucial metrics, encompassing user interactions with business listings. We combined Business Direction requests, Call Clicks, and Website Clicks as actions for Google. In the case of Apple, we combined Directions Taps, Website Taps, and Call Taps as actions.
Visualising the Data
Graph 1: Percentage of Apple Maps and Google Maps Impressions by Date Bar Chart: In 2023, the digital navigation scene was marked by a subtle yet notable shift as Apple Maps made inroads into a space long dominated by Google Maps. The bar chart before us tells a story of gradual change, with Apple Maps starting the year with 6.62% of impressions in January and reaching a high of 9.45% in October — a clear sign of its increasing popularity among users.
Despite this peak, the last quarter showed a gentle decline, ending at 9.14% in December. This graphical tale, though simple, underscores the evolving preferences of consumers as they navigate the choices in digital mapping, setting the stage for an interesting continuation into this year.
Graph 2: Growth of Map Impressions in Respect to the Grand Total Percentage of Each Provider: In the competitive landscape of digital navigation, 2023’s line graph tells a tale of fluctuating fortunes. Apple Maps, starting the year with promise, hit a significant stride in July, marking a crescendo of user engagement that signalled an upward trend in its battle against Google’s stronghold.
The second half of the year, however, brought a twist in this high-tech narrative, as the graph reveals. Apple Maps, despite its mid-year surge, faced a challenging climb. Its impressions, while peaking impressively, eventually gave way to a broader narrative of competitive ebb and flow, mirroring the dynamic and ever-shifting preferences of users around Europe.
When to invest in Apple Business Connect?
When contemplating the investment in Apple Business Connect, businesses should prioritise fine-tuning their Google Business Profiles to capitalise on Google’s substantial market share. This step is paramount to harnessing the vast reach of Google’s platform, which commands 99% of search impressions when including desktop and mobile searches. Additionally, given the ease of sharing Google Business Profiles with Bing Maps, prioritising Bing Maps should be part of the initial strategy to widen your digital presence effectively.
After solidifying their presence on Google and Bing, businesses can then consider branching out to Apple Business Connect. With Apple’s growing influence, particularly in urban areas and among Apple device users, it presents an untapped opportunity to connect with a distinct segment of the market. Establishing a presence on Apple Maps is especially pertinent for businesses aiming to engage with a tech-forward customer base. This strategic expansion allows businesses to encompass a comprehensive approach to digital mapping, ensuring they are visible across all major platforms where potential customers might seek them out.
Conclusion
Our detailed analysis underscores Apple’s growing presence in the European digital landscape, outpacing Google’s growth rate in the surveyed locations. While Google continues to command a leading share of impressions, Apple Business Connect’s strategic advancements are carving out a significant niche. The contest for market share in the maps and business listings sector is clearly escalating, offering an exciting prospect for businesses seeking enhanced visibility and deeper customer engagement.
For everyday map users, this competition is nothing short of beneficial. The ongoing enhancements by both Apple and Google lead to more accurate, user-friendly services, making daily navigation, location searching, and interaction with local businesses smoother and more intuitive. Consumers now have the power to choose from multiple reliable sources for their mapping needs, ensuring they have access to the latest and most comprehensive data, whether they’re commuting, exploring new locales, or simply finding the nearest coffee shop.
Anticipating the future, we foresee both Apple and Google pushing the boundaries of innovation as they vie for dominance in the digital mapping sphere. The real victors here will be the businesses and end-users, who stand to benefit from the continuous improvements in service, precision, and accessibility of information. If you are navigating the complexities of a multi-location business and are in search of support, consider initiating your optimisation journey with us. We invite you to set up a free trial account on GMBapi.com to ensure you’re maximising the potential of your Google Business Profile. Unlock the full value of your listings and step confidently into the evolving world of digital navigation and customer connection.
