The amount of people who own smartphones grows every year. As more people gain access to smart phones and voice recognition improves, people are more frequently searching for information through Siri, Apple Maps, and other types of mobile software rather than web search engines like Google. It’s important that you know how to make your business easily viewable through mobile devices so you can bring in the customers who are searching for your niche through their phones.
There are several steps you can take to make you show up when people search for similar businesses using Siri:
Get on the Maps
Most voice searches are done by people who need directions, so make sure your business is listed on both Apple Maps Connect and Google Maps. This step requires that you have an actual address to put into the map finder, and unless you want people stopping by your front door, don’t use your home address.
Go to the Apple Maps Connect and log in with your Apple ID and password. If you don’t have an ID set up already, do so. The site will prompt you to search for your business, but if you haven’t already made a listing, click “Add New Business” instead. Then you need to select your relationship to the business (owner, employee, etc) and give other basic details about the business. This includes the address and a phone number that can be reached immediately to give you a verification code. When you receive the code, confirm the location on the map. The last steps include choosing a business category, displaying your hours of operation, and filling in various social media details. Once you submit, your business will be findable on Apple Maps!
You then need to add your business to Google Maps as well. Go to the Google Maps app, search for your business, and progress through the “Are you the business owner?” prompts, adding all necessary information similar to the steps above.
Use Local Listings
Make sure your business is listed on every local listing site. Many people who search through Siri ask a variation of, “find the closest _________”. This means that the customer’s physical proximity to your business will be a factor in whether or not yours shows up, but by listing in multiple locations, you will have better chances that nearby customers will find your business instead of your competition. Places to list your business include Yelp, Google Places, Foursquare, and Citysearch.
You also need to claim your listings on all of the sites to ensure that Siri knows you are a legitimate business. This is a similar process for every listing site. You search for your business and click some sort of “Claim Your Business” option or create a new listing. Sites you need to claim your business on include Bing, Citysearch, Foursquare, Google, Superpages, Yahoo, and Yelp.
Keywords and Consistency
While you make your listings, be sure to stay consistent in how you present your business. Avoid typos or other errors, and use the exact same business name for every site. If you vary the name or address slightly, Siri and other search engines might think that they are completely different places. Also keep the listings consistent with the information on your website.
Like other forms of SEO, make sure you utilize keywords! Use descriptive terms when describing your business on listings as well as your website. The more Siri and other search engines know about your business, the more they can recommend you to the right searchers. When choosing keywords and phrases, keep in mind that people using Siri might ask lengthy questions such as, “What is the best barbeque in Kansas City?” rather than “barbeque Kansas City”.
Accrue Reviews
Siri and other search engines partly use ratings and reviews to decide which businesses to suggest. Urge your customers to post detailed reviews and give you high ratings. However, keep in mind that the effect of such reviews might take some time to go into effect, because Siri’s database doesn’t refresh daily.
If you are still struggling with how to set up your business for Siri and mobile map searches, feel free to ask Virtual Market Advantage to give you a hand. We love helping our clients succeed in every aspect of SEO, and every question that you ask lets us know what information to provide in the future. Let’s get your business in those search results!
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