"Voice" Databases

[dynasty]

So, I have a client who is subscribed to a service that claims it will "submit you to Alexa, Siri, and big voice search databases." As far as I know, there is no separate database for these things. You get there by doing well-formatted website content and schema (or paying for their ads). Has anyone heard of a service like this? Am I right to smell a rat?

 

[Contractor]

As a service area business owner I get at least three calls a day from people or recordings that want to put me at the top of voice search. Some of them act as if they control the databases. It’s no different than the telemarketing calls from companies saying that they control the Google listings and want to help me get my business to the top.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Siri's local features are powered by Apple Maps listings (partially weighted by Yelp ratings / review counts)

Cortana (Microsoft) local answers is powered by Bing Places listings (partially weighted by Yelp ratings / review counts)

Alexa is powered by Yelp with some listing vendors marketing a direct feed in too but in reality it's a secondary (back up) feed. Alexa/Amazon prioritizes Yelp's data as it again helps them with ranking results based on rating and review volume and is itself a highly trusted location data source.

Google assistant is powered by your GMB listing.

Anybody who tries to sell a 'Voice SEO' service is just doing the above in the background or even worse wants to mark up your website with some 'voice optimized' code that won't change much if your site is already optimized for Google knowledge panel.

Ignore / block number. You will still see more traffic from desktop/mobile for years to come. Cover yourself there, voice will take care of itself.

 

[Contractor]

For service area businesses like plumbers and electricians who aren’t able to put their business on Apple Maps, the only way to have Siri find your business for customers is to do well on Yelp?

I never really cared much about Yelp over the years, but seeing how they have their hand in almost all of the voice searches, maybe I should’ve been doing a little more work to get reviews there.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

I would suggest setting up an Apple Maps listing regardless and just showing an address. Chances of someone showing up at the address with a tap that needs fixing is very low!

There are numerous plumber and electrician listings on Apple Maps today and IMO, the pros (search, leads opportunity) far outweigh the cons of showing a random address on your listing that nobody will really take note of.

Beyond that, yes, as high as possible Yelp rating and review volume will help you. Home Services is their biggest vertical.

 

[Contractor]

So I am in a weird position with Apple Maps. I tried to submit my company in the past, but it was instantly not accepted. So when I contacted them to ask, they said that I can't put my profile on Apple Maps because it's a SAB.

So right now I go to do as you said and put my company up with the address. It shows my company in my profile still, but it has an alert that says "This place was not accepted, resubmit with changes or contact blah blah". It has some stuff that was filled in from Yelp, including the picture.

I tried to resubmit it with some small changes, but I got the instant email saying it was not accepted. So I guess there is no way to do it?

But here is the thing, when I use my iPhone to ask Siri to find me a local electrician, my company does come up. Most of the stuff on my listing is from Yelp.

So what do I do from here? And why do they say that my SAB company can't be on Apple Maps if it is on Apple maps right now?

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Sounds like you're good then. Goal is you're on Apple Maps + Siri and you're on there and competing. 3 biggest things that will impact your rank = proximity to searcher, rating and review volume.

If you still want to manage your listing directly on Apple through their Maps Connect tool, you may need to build your listing profile from scratch on Maps Connect to get them to accept an electrician with an address listing.

In the absence of your direct listing, Apple is automatically pulling your info from their Yelp feed. If you worked with an agency who also has bulk feed to Apple Maps that is another way to circumnavigate the direct/maps connect challenge.