‘Find a Business Near Me’ Voice Search Optimization – Fix your Siri and Alexa status.
If you’re running a business and don’t know what voice search optimization is, this oversight could cost you dearly. We’re at a digital marketing turning point. Those in the know will reap rewards but those without this key knowledge will be left behind.
Voice search assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa change the way your customers find your business. They assist your customers in a new, conversational way. More importantly, your business may be missing from their search results.
If you realized that one change to your digital marketing approach that could yield immediate results, would you do it?
What Is Voice Search Optimization For Businesses?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process that happens behind the scenes on your website. Its goal is to increase your online visibility. This raises your rank in Google search results and increases traffic to your website. Until recently, it was the gold standard of online marketing and web design.
Voice search optimization is the newest SEO strategy that caters to voice search assistants like iPhone’s Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. The more attractive you are to these assistants, the more they suggest you in results.
Voice Search Assistants are now the predominant way people interact with the Internet and find businesses. Complex artificial intelligence (AI) programming in smartphones and smart home devices listen to users’ voice commands and respond with search results.
The assistants perform web searches and speak back to the people who use them. It’s a growing link that connects people to the closest restaurants or a nearby plumber.
It’s not just the wave of the future, it’s already happening.
According to a 2019 report by Pew Research, 81% of Americans now own a smartphone, and according to a study by Chatmeter, 90% of smartphone owners use their device’s digital assistant. The most popular smartphone voice assistant is the iPhone’s Siri, with 44% of people who use a smartphone virtual assistant opting for Siri, compared to 30% who use Google Assistant. – Web Solutions Blog
This is actually great news for savvy businesses. You’re in a unique position to reoptimize your websites and local listings to gather this specialized traffic. If you don’t, however, this virtual middle man will pass you by.
What Being Unprepared Could Cost You
How does voice search optimization affect your bottom line? It’s all about whether these voice searches reveal your business to potential customers.
In the past, people tried to learn Google’s preferred language to find the best search results. That meant using search terms like “conference venues, California.” We learned how Google communicated and we spoke its language.
Today, people are talking to Google through their digital assistant using conversational phrases. “Hey Google, find conference venues near me.” That means you need to adjust your current optimization to feature different keywords that the assistants prefer. It’s also vital that you manage your local presence, but we’ll explain more about that in a minute.
The new optimization practices offer global benefits that go beyond courting artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. Correct optimization increases your brand recognition, perceived authority, and sales opportunities as well.
If you sit back and ignore this rising trend it will leave you in the dark of internet past.
“Voice-based shopping is expected to jump to $40 billion in 2022.” – Quora Creative
Properly optimized competitors will rise in traditional Google searches while you miss out on traffic and leads.
The Local Search Component
Proper and ample local search presence is critical because the assistants look for this as part of their search. This is the most overlooked area of Voice Search Optimization for local businesses because it’s time-consuming and can be confusing for business owners to manage these listings. Whether you realize it or not, third-party platforms like Google Business, Yelp, Facebook, and many more create listings for your business. To capitalize on this properly, you include your business in all of them with vigilance.
This single act reinforces your voice-assisted optimization. So many of these voice-assisted searches include location signifiers like “Siri, find a plumber near me,” or “Hey Google, list wedding planners in San Francisco.” The assistants use the strength of your relationship with your local listings to rank their results.
These listings also ensure you appear in local listing results on Google Business. If that weren’t convincing enough, you’ll gain additional leads from customers who find you by searching for reviews and end up at Yelp or Facebook.
If you’re not ready to tackle this yourself, we can help!
How Jayne Wayne Addresses Voice Search Optimization For Businesses
When you reach out to us:
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We’ll prepare a report that analyzes the strength of your online reputation, providing a current score and future plan. Most clients are below 50% visibility, but we get them over 95% with 100% consistency. We’d love it if you’d read some reviews from our website.
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We will optimize your local listings with tags to help search engines and voice assistants understand key things about your business.
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We remain approachable at every stage of the process.
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We’ll help you appear at the top of Google searches, reducing your advertising budget.
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We’ll update you with reports showing your fantastic results.
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We’ll stay on board to update all your local listings when your hours change.