Can Your Business Be Found by Voice Search with Siri or Google Now?

Have you searched for your business using voice search on your smartphone? If you have an iPhone or an iPad, ask Siri for a phrase that should suggest your business, as well as searching for your business by name.  Android users can ask a few phones for voice search by stating “Ok Google” followed by the question, or launching Google Now.

Siri
Siri voice search results

You’ll notice results are provided by Yelp. It is important that you claim your business on Yelp and that you ask for a few reviews there as well.

Google Now
Google Now voice search results

Wether or not someone has Android is less significant than how your business is found using Google Search. iOS users can use the Google Search app and gain the same results that users on Android will get. The only difference on iOS is that you’ll need to launch the Google Search app then press the microphone button on the search screen.

It will be increasingly more important that you have strong reviews on Google+ Local Pages.

Claim Your Business Listing To Be Found On Mobile

If you haven’t yet claimed your business listing on all these free platforms, you really need to.  How your business is discovered on mobile devices is a mix of SEO, local directories, reviews, and additional code on your website that will tell the search engines where your business is located.

Google’s Hummingbird Update Targets Voice Search

At the end of August 2013, Google announced the Hummingbird update to it’s search algorithm.  This tweak to the formula is directly aiming to help voice search results by mobile users.  Think about what questions you would ask Siri or Google Now to get the answers you need.  What would your customers be asking?  Will they search by your business name?  Google is working to provide mobile users asking questions with the best possible results that are most relevant to their location and detecting what the question should result in.

Once you’ve got an idea on what questions are being asked, you’ll want to see if your business is part of the answer and if it should be.  Do you see your business in search results?  What reviews go with that?  Is your phone number or hours correct?

Your business needs to monitor it’s voice search results.

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Author

  • Courtney Robertson

    From high school business education to the WordPress Training team, Courtney helps people of all skill levels get their message out. She lives in south-central Pennsylvania, loves coffee, plays the mandolin, and has a very large vegetable garden.

    View all posts Open Source Sr. Web Design & Developer Advocate