[caption id="attachment_1581" align="alignleft" width="300"] Apple Maps uses Tom-Tom and Yelp to source Geographical and Business Information[/caption] It's been roughly a month since the much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 came out to the masses, finally giving Apple users several features that have been available on other smart phones for months. Even so, while most reviews have been great, the flaws, notably their new Apple Maps software, have left many pretty disappointed. With a lack of details currently present on the popular Google Maps platform, and a bug-ridden GPS that appears to give wrong driving directions to several early adopters, the impact of the iPhone on the search marketing industry has been put into question. However, regardless of the issues that may be widely discussed online, over 5 million people (including the Motoza guys) got their hands on an iPhone 5 withing the first 3 days of release. Several Apple Analysts predict that over 8 million iPhones may be sold by the end of the year! Add the fact that over 60% of iPhone/iPad/iPod users have upgraded to iOS6 (which also features Apple Maps), and you now have several million users on Apple's new map system. It appears that even its faults aren't going to get in the way of the iPhone continuing to be a serious contender in the mobile space, as a recent survey by ChangeWave Research suggests that the majority of users have had no significant issues with Apple Maps. So what does this mean for small businesses? Plenty! For one, Apple Maps uses a different system to pull up business information and location than the previous Google Maps platform. Whereas Google Maps is based on Google's local search platform (which pulls information from a variety of sources online), Apple Maps uses the Tom Tom GPS system and Yelp.com to provide location, information, and user reviews for local businesses. Powered by the voice-activated Siri, Apple Maps likely shows different information for a particular business that also appears in Google Maps. While this may be inconvenient from a marketing perspective, small businesses need to be prepared to optimize their sites so that they appear when a few of those new million iPhone and iPad users search for their services. Apple Maps obviously has its flaws, and while we've been assured that their development team is working steadily to greatly improve it's functionality, small businesses risk losing far too much business in the meantime. So what can you do to ensure that you're being properly displayed on Apple Maps? First, assume you're not on there! The first thing you need to do is get your hands on an iPhone or iPad that has iOS6 installed. Once you have the Maps app open, search for your business name and address (be as specific as possible). If your business does not appear, you may not be properly entered into the system (or not in all together). There are three things you can do to help Apple include your business: Report the issue to Apple Maps - Here's a great tutorial on how to do so from iOS6. Add your business listing to Tom Tom's GPS service - Go here to start the process Make sure your business is listed on Yelp - Apple uses Yelp's business information and reviews to display results, if Yelp doesn't have you listed, there a chance Apple won't find you. If you are listed, make sure to enhance your Yelp profile and interact with your reviewers. Apple Maps SEO is a new arena that marketers are quickly researching and tweaking (including us!) As more surveys are released, and user data analyzed, we'll surely get more information on the various sources that are used to improve business result rankings and reviews. Until then, take the necessary steps we've highlighted, or contact us to optimize your entire mobile presence.