Local visibility
Beyond Google: get your business on Bing, Apple Maps and Nextdoor
Most local businesses stop at Google. Fair enough, Google is the big one. But there are three more free listings that take about an hour between them, that most of your competitors will never bother with, and that quietly put you in front of customers Google never shows you.
Quick answer
Register your business free on Bing Places (used by every Windows computer's default search, and by ChatGPT), Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps and Siri on every iPhone) and Nextdoor (where neighbours ask for recommendations). Use exactly the same business name, phone number and address details as your Google Business Profile on all of them. Matching listings also strengthen your Google ranking.
Why bother, if Google is the big one?
Two reasons. First, each platform is its own doorway: real customers genuinely search on all of them. Second, and less obvious, Google cross-checks your business details across the web. Matching listings on established platforms are evidence that you are a genuine, established local business, which supports your ranking in the Google map results too. The trade term is "citations", but it is really just consistency.
1. Bing Places (free, ten minutes)
Bing is the default search on every Windows computer, which is a lot of people who never change defaults. It also matters for AI: ChatGPT's web search runs on Bing, so a Bing listing feeds the answers AI assistants give about local businesses. Setup is the easiest of the lot: go to bingplaces.com and choose "Import from Google Business Profile", and it copies your Google listing across and keeps it synced.
2. Apple Business Connect (free, the most-skipped one)
Every iPhone's built-in Maps and Siri pull business results from Apple's own listings, not Google's. Around half of UK phones are iPhones, and hardly any small businesses register, which makes this the softest competition of the three. Sign up at businessconnect.apple.com with an Apple ID, verify your business, then set your categories, hours, service area and photos. Verification can take a few days, so start it and forget it.
3. Nextdoor (free, and it doubles as word of mouth)
Nextdoor is where neighbours ask "can anyone recommend someone to fix my computer / clean my windows / build a patio?". A free business page (business.nextdoor.co.uk) puts you in those conversations, and neighbours can formally recommend you, which is Nextdoor's version of reviews. If you have happy local customers, ask one or two to recommend you there. For a local service business this one is as much a referral channel as a listing.
The one rule that makes it all work
Identical details everywhere. Same business name (no variations), same phone number in the same format, same website, and the same address handling: if your Google profile hides your street address and shows a service area, do the same on every platform. Mismatched details do not just waste the effort, they can actively muddy the picture Google has of your business.
What not to bother with
After these three (plus a free Yell listing if you want a fourth), stop. The internet is full of tiny directories that will happily list you, and they add almost nothing. An hour on the big platforms is worth more than a weekend on the long tail, and some low-quality directories are best avoided altogether.
Do this first, though
All of these amplify your Google Business Profile, they do not replace it. If your Google profile is half-finished, fix that first: it is still where most local customers will find you. Here is the full guide to optimising your Google Business Profile, and the free profile grader to see where yours stands.
Would rather it was just done? Getting listed properly on Google, Bing, Apple Maps and Nextdoor, with everything consistent, is part of what I do in the Google Business Profile Optimisation service, from £150 as a one-off.