If you own a shop, salon or restaurant, the SEO habits that worked a few years ago may not be enough anymore. More people now find local businesses by asking their phone, their smart speaker or an AI assistant like ChatGPT, and those tools look for slightly different things than a traditional search does.
The good news is that preparing for this doesn't require a big budget. A few practical steps go a long way.
Get your local SEO in order
Start with the basics, because voice assistants rely on them heavily:
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile, including hours, photos and services.
- Make sure your name, address and phone number are exactly the same everywhere they appear online.
- Write website content that answers questions the way people actually ask them out loud: short, conversational and specific.
Writing tools like Jasper can help you draft that content faster, as long as you review it for accuracy and keep it sounding like your business.
Think about how people ask
When someone uses voice search, they say things like "best pizza near me" or "hair salons open now." Make a list of the questions your customers are likely to ask and make sure your website and profile answer them clearly. Many of your neighbors may ask in Spanish, so if you serve Spanish-speaking customers, have a Spanish version of your key information too.
If you want to try audio content, such as short product descriptions or announcements of special offers, text-to-speech services like Amazon Polly can produce clear, natural-sounding audio from a script.
Use AI assistants, but keep your voice
AI assistants like ChatGPT are also useful behind the scenes. Many local business owners already use them to draft social posts and email newsletters. Just treat what they produce as a first draft. Edit it, add your own details and make sure it sounds like you, not like every other business using the same tool.
Start small
All of this can feel like a lot. You don't need to do everything at once. Start with your Google Business Profile and a handful of question-style pages, then build from there. Your customers are already searching this way, and the businesses that adjust early will be easier to find.
If you would like help putting together a voice search plan, feel free to reach out. We're always happy to talk it through over a cup of coffee.