Apple Maps Publication Guide

Apple Maps - Listings Hub Standard Integration

• The GatherUp Listings Hub has a two-way API connection with Apple maps to send listing updates in real time. However, Apple will typically take five business days to reflect changes on their listings because of their process for conflating listing information from multiple sources.
• The Listings Hub is a high-authority data source for Apple Maps, but Apple will also check other data sources (data conflation) for accuracy prior to allowing publication. Apple’s principal data sources include Yelp, the business’s official website and their locator page. Apple’s intent for checking multiple sources prior to allowing listings publication is to ensure that their listings are as accurate as possible.
• Apple typically will not publish listings updates from the Listings Hub if those updates disagree with information published on the business’s Yelp page, official website, or store locator. Therefore, in order to maintain accurate Apple Maps listings, it is important to ensure that the business is updating Yelp (if not already managed in our platform) as well as their website and store locator with the same listing information as provided in the platform.
• The Listings Hub is able to both Create and Update Apple listings. However, Apple does not allow listings for SABs (Service Area Businesses) location that do not have a published address.
• Within our platform UI, Apple will only return a status other than “Synced” when the platform has not yet successfully created or pushed updates for the listing. Because Apple considers itself to be the source of truth, it will not return a status reflecting failed publication when it declines to publish Listings Hub updates that do not agree with its other data sources above; therefore, the platform will continue to show a status of “Synced” even when Apple has declined our updates in this scenario. Hence why it is important for the business’s other data sources to be managed:

Remediation: Prior to escalating any listings issue for Apple Maps, your first step should be to check and make sure that the Yelp page, official website, and store locator for a business agree with the listings information for the location in the Listings Hub. If they do not, these data sources will need to be reconciled prior to escalation. In most cases, Apple listings discrepancies will resolve on their own once the other data sources are addressed, after allowing for Apple’s five-day turnaround for reviewing their data sources (please note that the five-day turnaround is an estimation and not an SLA).

The Listings Hub can work directly with Apple to resolve most listings issues, but as a matter of due diligence, any discrepancies between the Listings Hub platform and Apple’s principle data sources (Yelp, official website, store locator) must be reconciled before we reach out to Apple on your behalf.

The Listings Hub platform does offer solutions wherein Yelp and store locators can be managed within the platform to mitigate the potential for failed updates on Apple. However, if the business is managing these data sources themselves, they will need to update them manually in line with our platform order for the Listings Hub to manage their Apple listings.