1.
Andrew Shotland
CEO, LOCALSEOGUIDE.COM
Search Different
Understanding Apple’s “New” Search
Engine
State of Search
Dallas, TX Nov 15, 2016

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/about-us
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10 years of Multi-Location & Enterprise SEO for Brands & Agencies

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Think Apple Maps Suck?

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You Know What Doesn’t Suck?
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http://www.asymco.com/2016/08/18/counting-apples-customers/

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64MM People In U.S. Use Apple Maps
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https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings/

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Apple’s Local Search Evolution
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Spotlight Search’s Desktop Evolution
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Spotlight Search’s Desktop
Evolution
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Apple “Quietly” Skimming The Best
Queries?
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iOS 9: The Search Game-Changer
• Siri
• Spotlight
• Safari
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iOS9 Search: Siri
• Apple Maps
• Bing Search
• App-Specific Commands
• “Open”, “Play”, “Call”, etc.
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iOS9 Search: Safari
• Apple Maps
• App Content
• Suggested
Websites
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iOS9 Search: Spotlight
• App Content
• Websites
• Bing Search
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And Don’t Forget About…
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Apple News
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Oh Yeah…Apple TV + Siri
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So What’s Apple’s Game?
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So How Can You Play?
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Two iOS Search Indexes
Applebot crawls + “Standard SEO” User-created content/engagement
with apps on user’s device
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Spotlight Search Algorithm Test
• Enter query
• Click on first Best Buy Locator
result
• Repeat query
• Record rankings
• Click on first Best Buy Locator
result in “pack”
• Repeat
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Query = “tv”
Result # 1 2 3 (Accidental
Click on Contacts)
4 5
1 1 App Xfinity TV Go 1 App Xfinity TV
Go
1 App Xfinity TV Go 1 App Xfinity TV
Go
1 App Xfinity TV
Go
2 3 “TV” Contacts:
Tim Villaneuva,
Amy Vernon?
3 “TV” Contacts:
Tim Villaneuva,
Amy Vernon?
3 “TV” Contacts:
Tim Villaneuva,
Amy Vernon?
3 “TV” Contacts:
Tim Villaneuva,
Amy Vernon?
3 “TV” Contacts:
Tim Villaneuva,
Amy Vernon?
3 3 Apple Music
“Townes Van
Zandt”
3 Apple Music
“Townes Van
Zandt”
3 Apple Music
“Townes Van
Zandt”
3 Apple Music
“Townes Van
Zandt”
3 Apple Music
“Townes Van
Zandt”
4 1 Podcast 1 Podcast 1 Podcast 1 Podcast 1 Podcast
5 1 iCal event 1 iCal event 1 iCal event 1 iCal event 1 iCal event
6 3 BB 3 BB 1 iMessage 3 BB 3 BB
7 1 iMessage 1 iMessage 3 mail 1 iMessage 1 iMessage
8 3 mail 3 mail 2 Notes 3 mail 3 mail
9 2 Notes 2 Notes 3 videos 2 Notes 2 Notes
10 3 videos 3 videos 3 BB 3 videos 3 videos
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Query = “appliance”
Result # Query #1 2 3 4 5
1 2 suggested
websites
1 BB 2 BB 3 BB 3 BB
2 3 maps 2 suggested
websites
2 suggested
websites
2 suggested
websites
2 suggested
websites
3 1 podcast 3 maps 3 maps 3 maps 3 maps
4 3 mail 1 podcast 1 podcast 1 podcast 1 podcast
5 3 BB 3 BB 3 BB 3 BB 3 BB
6 Wikipedia 3 mail 3 mail 3 mail 3 mail
7 3 Bing Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia
8 3 Bing 3 Bing 3 Bing 3 Bing
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Spotlight Search Algorithm
• The app must contain the keyword or some close variation to
rank
• The more you use an app the more likely it is to show up,
regardless of what you use it for
• The more common a keyword the more likely irrelevant results
are to rank
• Content/engagement ratio appears to be a non-factor at the
moment
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How Yelp “SPAMs” Spotlight
Search
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Apple Maps Search Does Suck
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If Keyword Not Mapped To Biz Name or
Category U R Screwed…

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SIRI Doesn’t Get It Either…

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Voice Search is Your Frenemy
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Apple Maps Ranking Factors
•Category relevance to query
•Keyword in business name
•Proximity to searches’ centroid (user’s and/or city’s)
•Yelp Meta Data (e.g. $$$$) – Unclear how important reviews are
for rankings, but likely affect CTR.

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Broad Geo Queries Can Lie…

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Dupes Can Screw Up Categorization &
Rankings
There are two dupe
listings in
MapsConnect.
UNCLAIMED LISTING
Category: Hardware Stores, Keys & Locksmiths
CLAIMED LISTING
Category: Keys & Locksmiths

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A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Lost Reservations…
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Sources

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The Mysterious Case of DCNine
Nightclub
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https://www.tomtom.com/mapshare/tools/
https://mapsconnect.apple.com/
http://www.openstreetmap.org/
http://www.flickr.com
Non U.S.? Check http://gspe21.ls.apple.com/html/attribution-38.html for geospatial & business listings sources.
(Warning: Updates to new URL every few months)

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Patience Grasshopper, Patience…
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Monitor for Legacy Business
Problems
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• Moving Locations
• Changing Phone #s
• Rebranding
• Acquisitions
• Disasters
• Crappy Local Listings Management Vendors You
Hired Previously Because You Were Cheap…

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Near Term Considerations:
• Make sure your business data is up to date on Apple Maps
• U.S. Data Providers:
- mapsconnect.apple.com
- Axciom
- Booking.com
- Factual.com
- GasBuddy.com
- GreatSchools.com
- Neustar Localeze
- Parkopedia
- TripAdvisor.com
- Yelp.com
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Non U.S.? Check http://gspe21.ls.apple.com/html/attribution-38.html for geospatial & business listings sources.
(Warning: Updates to new URL every few months)

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Near Term Considerations
• Claim all dupes and shut them down or recategorize them to the category you want to display
• Get as many people as possible to report incorrect categorizations in Apple Maps via “Report an Issue” UI
• Update Apple Maps data aggregators, including TomTom & OSM, to make all categorization as consistent as possible
• For non-category keywords, like “copy keys”:
• Target Bing rankings for SIRI queries
• Implement app indexing on your iOS app
• Mark-up website location pages with http://schema.org/Organization using the correct categorization.
• If all else fails, consider submitting via one of these providers as their data is likely more
• Brandify (Where2GetIt)
• DAC Group
• Location3
• MomentFeed
• PositionTech
• RioSEO
• SIMPartners
• Yext

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One More Thing…

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Millions of More Things…
https://maps.apple.com/place?address=1
22%20W%20Neal%20St%0APleasanton
%2C%20CA%20%2094566%0AUnited
%20States&auid=471728985783404915
9&ll=37.660145128309622%2C-
121.87523612755341&lsp=9902&q=Ha
p's%20Original%20Steaks%20%26%20
Seafood
URLS = AM ID + Lat/Long + Name

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Further Reading
• AppleMapsMarketing.com
• iOS App Search Programmer Guide
• Yext:Optimizing Local Search for iOS9 (reg req’d)
TL;DR?
andrew@localseoguide.com
www.localseoguide.com/contact
twitter.com/localseoguide
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