“Hey, Siri! Find nearby gas stations.” How many of you have asked Siri a similar question when you’re out and about? I bet a lot of you depend on Alexa and Google Home devices to help you accomplish many of your daily tasks from setting alarms to reminding you to pick up flowers at a nearby florist. Voice search is growing at a rapid pace and gaining ground on traditional search applications. According to a business study conducted by Bright Local in 2018, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the prior 12 months and 46% of voice search users look for a local business on a daily basis. Did you hear that…local and daily! That’s you! The survey further broke down voice search users into categories of devices used. The smartphone overwhelmingly won out at 56%, further proving that your customers are mobile and when they want information, they want it …NOW!  I am showing my age a bit, but I can remember when car phones (like they were actually installed in the car) first came out and people used to carry around a phone book in their cars. I’m not knocking the phone book and they had a good run, but I’m glad those days are over. Do they even still teach kids how to use the phone book at school anymore? Anyway, people use their phones to search for anything and everything like plumbing services, local pizza delivery, hours of operation and on and on. So, how can you get your business voice search ready?

1. Siri, Alexa and all the other voice assistants seem to know everything, but they rely heavily on information found on the web about your business. This is where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) come into play. The voice assistants use citations derived from SEO from trusted sources. Each assistant relies on different data aggregators:

	Search	Business Listings	Reviews
Siri	Google	Apple maps	Yelp
Alexa	Bing	Yelp, Yext	Yelp
Google Assistant	Google	Google my Business	Google my Business
Cortana	Bing	Bing	Yelp

2. Relevant data content. This means honing in on your target audience and thinking of questions that they may ask before they ever ask them. After you determine the questions, you will need to answer them with relevant, reliable data about your business. A good FAQ page on your website, is a good arena for voice assistants to gather information.

3. This may seem like a no brainer, but you must keep all information about your business current. Have you changed your check policy, hours, moved, phone number, etcetera?

Hiring a reputable and experienced company like CyberSpyder will ensure you are well represented when customers are voice searching. Another advantage to hiring a company such as CyberSpyder is assuring your data is structured to give you the most benefits. This is commonly known as schema—a tool that search engines and ultimately voice assistants are using to develop a clear picture of your business website’s central topic. CyberSpyder can help you will all your online needs from website development to voice assistant relevance. Call today to get your business voice assistant ready.