Google Business Profile optimisation
12 fixes from Google’s own guidelines.
SEO · Local listings
Apple Maps and Bing Places in Malta
the listings most businesses forget.
Google is only one map. About half of Malta’s phones are iPhones, which open Apple Maps, and Bing handles about a fifth of desktop searches. This guide shows how to claim both listings, keep every listing consistent and check yours with a free tool.
Short answer
Claim your place in Apple Business and Bing Places as well as Google: in October 2026, iOS had 49.2% of mobile page views in Malta and Bing handled 22.2% of desktop searches. Both are free; Apple verifies your organisation with two methods, and Bing can import a verified Google profile. Malta Digital sets these up as part of SEO in Malta.
Key takeaways
- Do I need Apple Maps and Bing Places if I have Google? Yes, for most businesses. In Malta, iOS had 49.2% of mobile page views in October 2026 and Apple Maps is the iPhone’s default map. On desktop, Bing handled 22.2% of searches in Malta. Both listings are free.
- What happened to Apple Business Connect? On 14 April 2026 Apple replaced Apple Business Connect with Apple Business, a free service that also covers device management and branded email. Apple says claimed locations and place cards moved across automatically.
- How do I verify my business with Apple in Malta? Apple asks for two verification methods: a business ID such as a D-U-N-S Number, a DNS TXT record on your domain, an App Store Connect app, or an official document such as a business licence, lease or utility bill. Review can take up to five business days.
The short version
Google is not the only map your customers use.
Most Malta businesses spend all their listing effort on Google, and that is the right first step. But two other listings decide what a large share of people see. About half of the phones in Malta are iPhones, which open addresses in Apple Maps by default. And on desktop computers, where office buyers do much of their research, Bing handled more than one search in five in October 2026.
Both listings are free. Both can show the wrong hours, an old phone number or a pin in the wrong street if nobody claims them. This guide shows the numbers for Malta, how to claim your place in Apple Business and Bing Places step by step, and how to keep all of your listings saying the same thing, with a free checker at the end.
If you have not set up Google yet, start with our Google Business Profile setup guide, then the 12 profile fixes. This page is the next step after those.
The Malta numbers
Half of Malta’s phones are iPhones.
Statcounter publishes monthly shares of operating systems and search engines by country, based on page views across the websites that use its tracking. We downloaded the Malta figures on 11 November 2026. Over the last twelve months, iOS has held between 44.1% and 51.4% of mobile page views in Malta, and in several months, from April to August 2026, it was ahead of Android. In October 2026 it was 49.2%.
That matters because the iPhone’s built-in Maps app, Siri and Spotlight search all draw on Apple’s own place data. When someone in Sliema asks Siri for “pharmacy near me” or taps an address in a message, Apple Maps opens, not Google Maps, unless they have changed their habits. If your place card on Apple Maps is missing or wrong, roughly half of phone users are one tap away from a dead end.
Search engines tell a second story. On phones, Google handled 97.8% of searches in Malta in October 2026. On desktop it was 75.4%, and Bing had 22.2%, partly because Bing is the default on Windows computers and in Microsoft Edge. Across all devices Bing had 10.5%. For a law firm, accountant, B2B supplier or any business whose buyers search from an office, that desktop share is real money.
Want all three listings claimed and matched for you? Apply now for SEO in Malta
Apple Maps
How to claim your place in Apple Business.
Apple changed its tools this year. On 14 April 2026 Apple launched Apple Business, a free service that replaced Apple Business Connect, Business Essentials and Business Manager. Apple says existing Business Connect data, including claimed locations and place cards, moved across automatically. Apple’s feature list for Malta, read on 11 November 2026, includes Brand and Location Management and Branded Mail. Ads on Maps is listed only for the United States and Canada, so in Malta the listing itself is what you control.
- Sign up at business.apple.com. Enter your organisation’s name, address and website. Apple says the website is optional but can speed up verification. The person signing up must use their real first and last name and confirm codes sent by email and phone.
- Verify the organisation. Apple asks for two verification methods out of: a business ID (a D-U-N-S Number, or an EIN for US businesses), a DNS TXT record on your domain, an App Store Connect app, or an official document such as a business licence, a lease or a utility bill. You have 60 days to verify, and Apple says review can take up to five business days.
- Add your location. Under Brands and Locations, search for your place first. If it already exists on Apple Maps, select it; if not, add it as new.
- Put the pin on the right building. Drag the map or enter coordinates. In Malta, where many streets are narrow and some buildings have names rather than numbers, check this in satellite view.
- Fill in the basics. Default language, display name, primary category, open or opening soon, phone number with +356, website and opening hours.
- Verify an existing place by phone if offered. Apple may call the number it already has for that place and ask for a four-digit code.
- Add the extras. Photos, more categories, actions such as booking or ordering links, and a showcase for offers once the location is verified.
If someone else already manages your place, for example a former agency or a data provider, Apple lets you request a transfer with supporting documents; the review can take up to five business days.
Bing Places
How to claim your Bing Places listing.
Bing Places for Business controls how you appear in Bing search, Bing Maps and other Microsoft services. There are two routes. If your Google Business Profile is verified, you can import from it, which is the quickest way. Otherwise you search for your business, claim the existing listing or create a new one, and verify it.
A Microsoft Bing Places support specialist set out the verification rules on Microsoft’s Q&A site in August 2026: Bing sends a six-digit PIN by phone, mail, email or text, though not every option is offered to everyone. Postcards take 5 to 6 business days within the United States and longer elsewhere, so Microsoft suggests waiting at least twelve days before contacting support. The PIN only works in the account that requested it, which matters if an agency started the process for you.
The same answer explains something most owners do not know. Bing builds each local listing from many sources, and Bing Places is one of its preferred feeds. But other sources can take priority if their information is fresher, for example if your Bing Places data has not been updated for more than six months. In other words, a listing you claimed in 2023 and never touched again can quietly be overwritten.
| Import from Google | Claim or create on Bing | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Fastest; details come across from your Google profile | Slower; you enter details yourself |
| Verification | Verified Google listings can be verified automatically | PIN by phone, mail, email or text |
| Editing later | Linked listings are corrected in Google, then synced | Edited directly in Bing Places |
| Watch for | Duplicates if a Bing listing already existed | Old duplicates from other data sources |
If you find a duplicate you cannot edit, Microsoft’s support staff recommend contacting Bing Places support with both listings and asking them to keep the verified one. Do not try to verify the duplicate.
Consistency
Make every listing say the same thing.
Search engines and map apps compare your details across sources. When your name, address, phone and hours match everywhere, they trust the listing more and customers stop getting conflicting answers. When they differ, one of them is shown, and it may be the wrong one.
| Detail | The rule | Malta check |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Exactly as on your signage and invoices | No locality or keywords added to the name |
| Address | Same street, number or building name, locality | Use the MaltaPost postcode format, three letters and four digits, for example HMR 9010 |
| Phone | One main number, same format everywhere | Write it as +356 and eight digits |
| Hours | Same regular and holiday hours | Update for public holidays and seasonal hours |
| Website | Same address, ideally the page for that location | Use https and your own domain |
| Category | The closest match on each platform | Categories differ by platform; check after any import |
Service-area businesses, such as plumbers or cleaners who visit customers, should follow each platform’s rules for hiding a home address. On Google that means a service-area profile; our guide on why a business is not showing on Google Maps explains the common causes when a listing disappears.
Free tool
Check your map listings.
Tick what you have already done and pick your type of business. The checker gives you a score out of ten and a to-do list in the order that matters most for your kind of customer.
Map listing checker
Shares from Statcounter for Malta, October 2026. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere.
Your listing score
This checker needs JavaScript. The list below works on paper too.
How it works, in plain words: one point for each of the ten items you have done. The to-do list is sorted by business type. Walk-in businesses get Google, Apple Maps, hours and photos first, because visitors check them on a phone. Service-area businesses get the phone number and service areas first. Offices get Google, Bing and the website link first, because their buyers often search from a desk.
Worked examples
Two examples with numbers.
Example 1 (made-up figures to show the method). A restaurant in St Julian’s gets 2,000 direction requests a month across all map apps. If the split follows Malta’s mobile shares, roughly half of those guests are on iPhones. If its Apple Maps card still shows last winter’s closing time, some of those guests see “closed” and go elsewhere. The restaurant cannot know the exact number, which is the point: the fix takes an afternoon and removes the risk.
Example 2 (made-up figures, real shares). An accountancy firm in Birkirkara gets about 300 searches a month for its name and services from office computers. At October 2026’s desktop shares, around 22% of desktop searches in Malta went through Bing, so roughly 66 of those searches could land on a Bing listing the firm has never checked. If that listing shows an old address from before the firm moved, those are 66 chances a month to look careless to a buyer.
Listings are one part of local visibility. The rest is your website, your Google profile and your reviews. We have 18 Google reviews ourselves, all from real clients, and our guide on how to get Google reviews legally shows how to build yours.
Want your listings checked and fixed as part of SEO? Apply now for SEO in Malta
Step by step
One afternoon to fix all your map listings.
- Write your master details. Legal and display name, address with postcode, phone with +356, website, hours and holiday hours, categories and five good photos.
- Check Google first. Make sure your Google Business Profile is verified and matches the master details.
- Search Apple Maps on an iPhone. Find your business, note what is wrong, then sign up at business.apple.com.
- Verify your organisation with Apple. A DNS record on your domain plus a document such as a utility bill is often the simplest pair.
- Claim or add your Apple place. Fix the pin, the category, the phone and the hours.
- Search Bing for your business. Note any duplicates or old addresses.
- Claim Bing Places. Import from your verified Google profile, or claim and verify with a PIN.
- Report duplicates. Ask Bing Places support to keep the verified listing; mark wrong Apple places with “Report an issue”.
- Match Facebook and your website. Same details on your Facebook page and in your website footer.
- Set a reminder. Review every listing at least every six months and after any change of hours, phone or address.
Common mistakes
Five mistakes that cost visits.
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Only Google is claimed | Apple Maps and Bing show old or third-party data | Claim all three |
| Keywords in the business name | Platforms can suspend or rename the listing | Use your real name only |
| Pin on the wrong building | Visitors walk to the wrong door | Fix the pin in satellite view |
| Holiday hours never set | Listings show “open” when you are closed | Add holiday hours before each holiday |
| An agency claimed it in its own account | You cannot edit your own listing | Ask for access or request a transfer |
How we help
Listings, website and reviews, done together.
Our SEO work in Malta and Gozo starts with the basics that bring people to your door: a verified Google Business Profile, Apple Maps and Bing Places listings that match it, a website that confirms the same details, and a steady flow of genuine reviews. Every listing stays in your own accounts, with us added as a manager, so you keep control if you ever change supplier.
See SEO in Malta for what the service includes, or apply below and tell us your business name and locality. We check your Google, Apple and Bing listings first and tell you what we would fix.
Ready to be found on every map, not just one? Apply now for SEO in Malta
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
Do I need Apple Maps and Bing Places if I have Google?
Yes, for most businesses. In Malta, iOS had 49.2% of mobile page views in October 2026 and Apple Maps is the iPhone’s default map. On desktop, Bing handled 22.2% of searches in Malta. Both listings are free.
What happened to Apple Business Connect?
On 14 April 2026 Apple replaced Apple Business Connect with Apple Business, a free service that also covers device management and branded email. Apple says claimed locations and place cards moved across automatically.
How do I verify my business with Apple in Malta?
Apple asks for two verification methods: a business ID such as a D-U-N-S Number, a DNS TXT record on your domain, an App Store Connect app, or an official document such as a business licence, lease or utility bill. Review can take up to five business days.
Can I copy my Google listing to Bing?
Yes. Bing Places lets you import from a verified Google Business Profile, and verified Google listings can be verified automatically. Linked listings are then corrected in Google and synced, and importing can create duplicates if a Bing listing already existed.
How does Bing Places verification work?
Bing sends a six-digit PIN by phone, mail, email or text, depending on the listing. Postcards take longer outside the United States, so Microsoft suggests waiting at least twelve days before contacting support. Enter the PIN in the same account that requested it.
Why is my Bing listing showing old details?
Bing builds listings from several sources. Microsoft says other sources can take priority if they are fresher, for example if your Bing Places data has not been updated for more than six months. Update the listing and keep it current.
Can Malta Digital set up my map listings?
Yes. As part of our SEO work we claim and match your Google, Apple Maps and Bing listings in your own accounts, fix pins, hours and categories, and keep them in line with your website.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
- Statcounter Global Stats: Mobile Operating System Market Share Malta (read 11 November 2026)
- Statcounter Global Stats: Search Engine Market Share Malta (desktop and mobile) (read 11 November 2026)
- Apple Newsroom: Introducing Apple Business (available from 14 April 2026) (read 11 November 2026)
- Apple Support: Apple Business feature availability by country (read 11 November 2026)
- Apple Support: Sign up for Apple Business and verify your organization (read 11 November 2026)
- Apple Support: Add a single location in Apple Business (read 11 November 2026)
- Microsoft Q&A: Bing Places verification and data sources (Bing Places support, August 2026) (read 11 November 2026)
- Microsoft Q&A: Duplicate Bing Places listing (Microsoft moderator answer, June 2026) (read 11 November 2026)
Keep reading
Related guides.
Google Business Profile setup in Malta
Create and verify your profile, step by step.
Business not showing on Google Maps?
Causes and fixes, in order.
A useful first step
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