Voice Search Readiness for Local Businesses

The new year is finally here! And with it comes the chance to help local businesses get found online. What many don’t realize is that the online world is so much more than just SERPs and listings. For a few years now, voice search has played a key role in local SEO – with voice assistants learning new skills by the minute and becoming even more relevant for local businesses.

 Needless to say, voice search is essential for any local business looking to reach the right customers: the super-empowered consumer. This type of consumer is always going, always busy and always looking for something. They know what they want, they want it here and they want it now. The use of mobile devices has given birth to the empowered, impatient consumer – and there’s no slowing them down.

 It’s All About Convenience

Voice search is here to change the way we search – the way we reach consumers that otherwise would’ve never found a local business. People of every age and every generation have taken to voice search without a hiccup. It’s convenient, easy to use and readily available to anyone with a smartphone, a tablet, a smart speaker or even a computer.

If you’ve tried using voice search before, can you honestly say that you prefer to type things up directly on the screen instead of instructing your good ol’ pals Siri, Cortana, Alexa, Bixby or Google to search it for you? We’re always in a rush, and typing fast can result in typos that a voice assistant wouldn’t make. For the 10th time, I’m trying to search for a “dry cleaner near me,” not “Dr. Leaner near me.” It’s no wonder voice assistants have become increasingly popular over the years.

Helping Local Businesses Get There

 So, how does a local business become that “dry cleaner near me?” It’s not just about the basic business listings anymore. Localeze, Here, Foursquare, Google My Business, Apple, Yelp and Bing all help local businesses get found by every voice assistant, from Siri to Cortana.

 But business listings aren’t the only tools local businesses need to rely on. Content will always be king – but businesses have to be careful to craft the right kind of content. Keyword stuffing won’t do it anymore. Content has to be conversational and natural, as if the business owner were talking to a friend. Another little tip? Local businesses should try to ask and answer questions through their content. If that particular page is already ranking within the first 10 positions, it has a higher chance of appearing in featured snippets, which increases visibility and therefore conversions.

No Time Like the Present

Some people like to wait until a feature or product is fully developed before making changes to their strategy, but that won’t help them beat the competition online. In this fast-paced world, local businesses need to jump on every new trend as fast and as efficiently as possible if they don’t want to lose potential customers.

Considering Amazon’s Echo Dot was the most purchased item over Black Friday, it’s safe to say that Adobe Analytics prediction is likely accurate: smart speaker ownership will rise to 48 percent after the holidays. 

In the online industry, every second counts. Local businesses shouldn’t wait any longer before getting their business found on voice search. Take our voice search readiness test today. Then request a demo to see how we help local businesses get found online every day.