Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Apple Maps Connect Pro Tip
Justin Mosebach an Internet Marketing professional with YDOP – Internet Marketing just sent in the very helpful tip for Apple’ Maps Connect:
Interestingly, if the phone call with the code doesn’t work the first time, you have to wait 1 minute until you re-try it. If that next try doesn’t work, you have to wait 5 minutes until the next try (and then 25 minutes after that).
However, I discovered a trick that if you log out and log back in, the wait time goes away and you can immediately try again.
After trying around 9am (with no success), I was able to claim our listing a few minutes ago. You just have to wait like 5-10 minutes or more for the call to come through with the verification code. I assume it’s slow because of everyone and their uncle trying to do this at the same time.
I was not given any type of option to verify the listing by an email address with the same domain as the business (as the Search Engine Land article alluded to).
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Comments
15 Comments
I had no problems verifying . Worked on first verification around 2PM EST. Took maybe two to three minutes total.
It was a relatively painless process yesterday (Wed.) On my second attempt with the phone verification my client was able to answer his business phone and relay me the pin info. Everything seemed to be peachy. I had correctly filled out all the profile details.
Today about 24 hrs. later I received an email rejecting my listing. It went on to say that it may have been rejected for one of a few possible reasons. The obvious culprits like missing or inaccurate information couldn’t have been the reason as I meticulously and properly entered all the relevant data.
The third reasons said something like “your business type might not be accepted at this time.” My client is an insurance broker, perhaps that’s one of the unacceptable businesses.
Anyone else have any problems?
Andrew
Now that’s a disturbing tale.
Here’s the copy and pasted text of the email I received, in case that helps you make sense of this. Maybe I did something wrong, I doubt it. I answered honestly during the claiming process that I was authorized to make these edits.
Perhaps they determined that I was an agency and somehow that’s not cool. I think I read that in one of the blogs, searchengineland I think as per Phil’s email. Anyways this is a new thing and were all still trying to figure it out. I know that to be the case when the smartest guy in local has little to say in his response. Here’s the response I got from Apple, I’ll set it off in quotes:
“Unfortunately we were unable to completely verify your edits. Some common reasons include:
Some profile details appeared inaccurate or misleading
We could not verify if your business was open at the stated address
We’re not accepting updates for this type of place at this time
Please review all edits, including the accuracy of your telephone number, and ensure that your business name and address are formatted correctly. Please also provide additional fields like your website link if you haven’t already.
Please resubmit the profile again once you have updated it. Link to your profile.”
Like I stated earlier, I did fill out every field requested of me … website URL, hours of operation, correct NAP, etc.
I can’t be the only reject here. I look forward to hearing about others experiences.
Andrew
Is your client a bricks and mortar or home based business>
It’s a brick a mortar. My client has a solid and consistent NAP across the ecosystem with the occasional listing choosing to show or not his suite #, which is normal behavior. I’ll probably just wait a week or two and try again. I hate having to keep bothering my client to play phone confirmation paddy-cake.
I did the phone verification for our company on Wednesday. We’re categorized as “Marketing,” “Web Design,” and “Advertising” and I haven’t received a notification that the business was either accepted or rejected.
I DID get an email when trying to do the verification today from Apple saying the following (we didn’t end up doing the call).
From Apple (Subject: “Your Business Profile Updates Were Not Approved”):
“THE PHONE NUMBER FOR [client name] AT [client address] IS BEING FORWARDED.
Our automated system detected that the phone number for your business is being forwarded to another number. For security purposes, we require that profiles only contain direct and non-forwarded phone numbers. Please update your profile with a direct phone number.”
*Note that the client is using an answering service, because he’s a lawn care provider and can’t always be answering the phone.
Another silly thing is that when you try a code and mistype it, it doesn’t let you type in the right code, it makes you do another verification.
And lastly, I’ll end my rant by saying that it automatically logs you out of the site after ~30 minutes or so. When you log back in to enter the code, you have to redo the call and use a new code.
OK. That sounds frustrating.
An unexpected update to my listing being rejected by Apple:
Out of nowhere I got an email tonight (a week after my original description of my submission/verification problems.)
My listing has been approved. I haven’t done anything since my last comment where I said I’d just wait it out for a couple weeks before trying again.
Apple even thanked me for helping them make the world a better place. You’re welcome.
I think they’re just shaking out the bugs. All is good. Insurance brokers need not worry that they’re of some sort of (yet to be defined) undesirable classification of a business.
Yes, thanks for the tip Mike. Have been having problems even now with the phone number not calling. Will definitely do the sign out/sign in to try to make this work faster.
Anyone notice the best time to do this? Been trying later at night and still having frequent problems for clients.
Has anyone tried doing this with an automated menu? There’s no option to add an extension number, and without post card or email options, it looks like businesses with extensions cannot claim their listing at this time :C
@Kiyo that is correct. If you have an extension you can not verify your listing directly.
Your only option is to submit via one of Apple’s data partners like Localeze or UBL.
Hi Mike
All excited because we have Apple maps here in the UK now. I verified my own business with no problem at all. But my client has a problem. Their telephones are answered by a machine which says, press 1 for sales, press 2 for service and press 3 if you want anything else. The automated Apple call doesn’t seem to know what to do so they are not getting the phone call to verify. Any clues?
Jo,
You’re going to have to temporarily disable to automated phone answering system. It won’t work any other way (from my experience).
Hi Justin
Client says it’s not possible to switch off phone automation. I have responded to the Apple ID email explaining the situation but no response. Does anyone have a better way of contacting them? There are lots of UK businesses who have this form of press 1 automation to get through to the right person.
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