Voice searches are made by taking spoken commands and breaking them down into individual elements to help voice assistants like Alexa identify what we want to search for. For example, 'Where's my...' translates to "I'm searching for..."; 'my nearest' - a local result; and 'hairdresser' - the type of business. Once the device has understood the search query it will search the web and provide a list of the relevant businesses.

The more specific the voice search, the more detailed the results given back will be. For example, adding 'open on Saturday' to the search will only return results showing businesses with clearly published opening hours which also indicate that they are open on a Saturday. By considering the types of voice searches that could be requested, you can optimise your Yell.com listing by providing the right content needed to meet those search requirements. As a minimum, take the time to make sure your business contact details, address, opening hours and details of the products and services you offer are present and accurate. It is also really worth asking customers to leave reviews on your listing so that you can feature in voice searches for 'the best of'.

Updating your Yell listing is easy to do using the free Yell for Business app and will give your business the best chance of being discovered by Alexa or other voice assistants.