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Guide

Beyond Google: which online platforms should your business be on?

Published 5 min read

The short answer

Start with Google Business Profile, then claim Bing Places and Apple Business Connect so the maps on every phone show the right details. Add Yelp, Facebook, Instagram or Nextdoor where your customers actually look. Use the exact same name, address and phone everywhere, claim each profile before customizing it, and check them every few months.

Why the same details everywhere matter

Customers find local businesses through more than one app. Someone might search Google on a laptop, ask Siri in the car, and check Yelp before calling. If each one shows a different phone number or old hours, the call goes to someone else, and the customer stops trusting what they see.

Google's guidelines for representing your business ask for your real-world business name, the one used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery, plus an accurate address, phone and hours. Matching details across the web also make it easier for search engines and AI assistants to see that all these listings are the same business.

Pick one exact format for your name, address and phone, and use it everywhere. Suite or Ste, Street or St: choose once, write it down and copy it.

The main platforms and what each is for

Google Business Profile

For most local businesses this is the first listing to get right. It shows your business on Google Search and Maps, with hours, calls, directions, photos and reviews. Google's tips to improve your local ranking start with entering complete information and verifying your business.

Bing Places

Microsoft describes Bing Places for Business as a free platform for appearing in Bing search results and Bing Maps. In October 2025 it moved to bing.com/forbusiness, and you can import your details from Google Business Profile instead of typing them again.

Apple Business Connect

Apple Maps, Siri and Safari show place cards for local businesses. Apple Business Connect was Apple's free tool for claiming and editing them. In 2026 Apple brought it into Apple Business, a free service where you manage the same place cards, with photos, hours and location details that appear across Apple Maps, Safari, Spotlight and more.

Yelp

Yelp is a review and discovery site, and your business may already have a page that a customer added. The first step is to claim your Yelp page and correct the details. Keep in mind that Yelp asks businesses not to ask for reviews.

Facebook and Instagram

These are where you show your work and talk with customers. Meta's guide to creating a Facebook Page for your business covers the basics: a separate Page with your hours, contact details, posts and messages. Instagram lets you set up a business account with contact details on your profile. Both suit visual work: a hair salon, a bakery, or a cleaning company with before-and-after photos.

Nextdoor

Nextdoor connects neighbors, and neighbors ask each other for local recommendations. A free Nextdoor Business Page lets you share up-to-date contact information, post updates, reply to messages and collect recommendations from neighbors.

Industry directories

Some industries have their own directories that customers trust. For home services, Angi is one example; health, legal and hospitality businesses have their own. They can help, but read the terms carefully before you join, and only add the ones your customers really use.

How to choose where to be

  • Start where your customers look. Ask new customers how they found you, and notice where people leave reviews and questions about businesses like yours.
  • Cover the maps. Google, Apple and Bing power the maps and voice assistants on most phones and computers, so those three listings are worth claiming for almost any local business.
  • Pick social channels you'll keep up. A Facebook Page whose last post is years old can look worse than no Page at all.
  • Claim before you customize. Many platforms create listings on their own from public data. Claim the existing listing before you add photos or create anything new, so you don't end up with duplicates.

Keeping your profiles accurate

  • Keep one master sheet with your exact name, address, phone, website, hours and categories.
  • When something changes, update every platform the same day, starting with Google.
  • Set holiday and special hours ahead of time.
  • Check each profile every few months, including suggested edits from the public, which can change your details without you noticing.
  • Keep logins in the business's name, with a second manager added, so you don't lose access when someone leaves.

Privacy when posting photos of your work

Photos of real work are some of the best content you can post, but they can expose the people you work for. Before posting:

  • Never show or name a customer's address. Crop out house numbers, street signs, mailboxes and license plates.
  • Don't tag the location of a customer's home in the post.
  • Ask permission before showing a customer's face, car, home or anything personal, and keep a record of it.
  • Check mirrors, screens and paperwork in the background for names or private details.
  • Health businesses, such as a dental office, have stricter privacy rules for patient photos. Check them before posting anything.

Online platforms checklist

  • Claim and verify your Google Business Profile.
  • Claim Bing Places, or import your listing from Google.
  • Claim your place card in Apple Business, formerly Apple Business Connect.
  • Claim your Yelp page and correct the details.
  • Set up a Facebook Page and an Instagram business account only if you'll keep them active.
  • Claim your Nextdoor Business Page if neighbors recommend businesses like yours.
  • Use one exact format for name, address and phone everywhere.
  • Keep a master sheet of your details, and logins in the business's name.
  • Check every profile every few months.
  • Remove addresses and personal details from photos before posting.

Claiming these profiles, setting them up and keeping them in sync is what our online presence service does. To see how reviews fit in, read how to get more Google reviews.

Sources

  1. Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help
  2. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help
  3. Introducing the New Bing Places for Business: Built for Business Owners, Powered by Research, Microsoft Bing Blogs
  4. Introducing Apple Business — a new all-in-one platform for businesses of all sizes, Apple Newsroom
  5. Claiming your Business Page, Yelp Support Center
  6. Don't Ask for Reviews, Yelp Support Center
  7. How to create a Facebook Page for your business, Meta Business Help Center
  8. Set up a business account on Instagram, Instagram Help Center
  9. Create a Free Business Page on Nextdoor, Nextdoor Business

Questions about online platforms

Does a small business need to be on every platform?

No. Claim the map listings on Google, Apple and Bing, then add the platforms where your customers actually look and that you'll keep up to date.

Is Bing Places worth it if most people use Google?

Usually, yes. It is free, it puts your business in Bing search and Bing Maps, and you can import your Google listing instead of starting over.

What if your business is listed twice on a platform?

Claim the listing you want to keep and use the platform's own process to report or merge the duplicate. Don't create a new listing to replace a problem one.

Should we post photos of work at a customer's home?

Only with the customer's permission, and never in a way that shows the address. Crop out house numbers, street signs and license plates.

Want your profiles set up and in sync?

Book a free call. We'll check where your business shows up today and what to fix first.

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