Apple now has public place pages — but what exactly are they for?

Apple places URLs appear to be for the purpose of sharing with non-Apple users.

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Apple is apparently now publishing public place pages for selected landmarks, according to a post on 9to5Mac. Below is an example (via Allan Miller):

Apple Maps Place Page

If you’ve got the latest MacOS update, “Sierra,” installed, you can access these pages from the Safari toolbar. On “El Capitan,” a smaller drop-down page without a URL shows up for similar kinds of queries.

Apple Maps El Capitan

Apple Maps El Capitan

In all likelihood, these URLs, which Andrew Shotland identified as “Apple Maps ID + Lat/Long + Name,” are intended for sharing, especially with users of non-Apple devices and platforms. They may also be for indexing on Google and Bing.

Presumably, these pages can and ultimately will be indexed. Currently, they don’t show up in search results. Shotland said today in the Local Search Workshop in advance of SMX East that he thought these pages could rank well if they were indexed.

The story in 9to5Mac characterized the pages as being for “landmarks and some points of interest.” In my mind, it makes limited sense that Apple would selectively create these pages for landmarks but not for businesses.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Greg Sterling
Contributor
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

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