By Surefire Local.

A key component of your success is to make sure your local marketing is on point.

In today’s day and age, most of your customers are finding you from Google. They turn to their trusted search engine and type in “(service type) contractor in (name of town)” and choose the one that jumps out to them. But now, with the popularity of Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri and all of the other virtual assistants, the name of the game is changing. Why? Because people don’t speak the same way that they type into Google’s search bar, so all of the keyword targeting you have done with your digital marketing may no longer be as effective.

Here’s a closer look at why it is imperative that you consider voice search when crafting your local marketing strategy, as well as actionable tips you can take today to help your home service business get found.

Why It Is Important to Include Voice Search in Your Contractor Marketing

While there are some people that still actually use Google’s search bar, the shift to using voice search is quickly becoming mainstream. From smart home devices, such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home, to the Siri and Cortana found on every smartphone, many people no longer take the time to type their questions. Instead, they ask them. But the words being spoken are very different than the keywords you have been using in your digital marketing for years.

For example, if someone wants to find a home improvement contractor, they will ask, “Siri, who is a good home contractor near me?” as opposed to typing in “home contractor in Los Angeles.” They could also ask questions like, “Who can I call to fix my roof?” or “Is there someone close by that can repair gutters?”

So the secret to success in today’s ask-rather-than-type world is to figure out what questions people are asking and then altering your digital marketing strategy accordingly. This is especially true being a local business. The homeowners around you are asking for your services, and you want to be the company that Siri, Alexa, or Google recommends.

How to Improve Your Voice Search Local Marketing

Now that you understand why tweaking your digital marketing strategy with voice search in mind is so important, let’s take a look at actionable steps you can put into place to capitalize on this new technology:
First, the voice search algorithms aren’t messing around when recommending home contractors. Not only do you need to target the right keywords, you need to have a strong social media presence and reputation in addition to a fast-loading webpage to make the cut. Apple and Amazon want users to trust their smart devices, so their algorithm won’t recommend you unless it knows you are dependable.
Similarly, you should make sure your site has an SSL certificate. By upgrading the security on your site, you give Alexa, Google and Siri the confidence they need to suggest you.

Next, tweak your keyword strategy to target the way people naturally talk. What would you say if you were going to hire someone in your industry? Hint: “Near Me” is a very commonly used term that should be included when possible. While the smart assistants might be able to figure out who you are with basic long-tail keywords, if you can target the exact phrase the user says, you will see more success.
While you want to stay natural, you also want to keep it simple. Most people aren’t going to recite a long question to Alexa—they are using it for convenience, so the question is going to be short.

Additionally, you want to keep the content on your page less than 2,000 words. Since people are usually on the move when using voice search, the algorithms naturally look for the shorter articles to recommend.

A key component of your success is to make sure your local marketing is on point. You need the homeowners around you to find you, which means you need to show up in any type of inquiry they make. By altering your digital marketing strategy to specifically target voice search, you can be sure that you can be found.

Source: Surefire Local