How Apple's Siri Could Destroy Local SEO

I do believe that Siri will influence how we perform search, perhaps significantly, and hence she will also influence how we do SEO.  While I am sure that Apple has a protective wall of patents surrounding Siri you can bet that the Android community will come forth with their own brand of voice recognition enabled search of the Google index.

 A thread (sometimes called a topic) is a collection of posts, usually displayed from oldest to latest, although this is typically configurable: Options for newest to oldest and for a threaded view (a tree-like view applying logical reply structure before chronological order) can be available.

Great post! let us see whether siri can destroy local SEO, in my opinion it is not true.

Siri is the best application developed by Apple.  Siri could have a major impact in the virtual world as it is not a robot, is controlled by someone!

WWW.CLARO.COM.BR  -  WWW.TIM.COM.BR  -  WWW.GOOGLE.COM  

I'm curious whether the same person wrote the article and the headline. The headline talks about Siri destroying Local SEO. But the article discusses how "it's more important than ever to make local SEO a priority for your business" and repeats that what you need to do is "Enhance your Local SEO." Your article discusses how Siri could take some local search traffic from Google. But far from delivering on the headline's promise to show how it can destroy Local SEO, it shows how it makes Local SEO a little different and a lot more important.

It takes time to see if it works and destroy the Local SEO. As we know that Location is most associated with the Mobile to find out the activities which are the part of routine activities like finding restaurant, go for movie, inquiry for flight, find hotel nearby etc. These are the business that are specifically used today, but for a long, if more business to include in this list, like online shopping store etc. It will be crucial for any overall SEO.

Great post! You're right. The voice activated devices will cause those users to slack off from traditional search. Mobilizing your website and optimizing your website for local searches are very crucial. http://www.corporatecosmo.com

My name is Troy Lensman and I have started a Voice Search Optimization Consulting Company. If you guys could check it out and possibly give some feedback I'd greatly appreciate it! http://www.voicesearchoptimization.org Thanks for your time.

Siri probably won’t destroy local SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  But Siri may change how we do SEO --- and where cyber footprints are placed on the Internet so eCommerce websites can be easily found by Siri and other searchers.  Why?  Because it appears that Siri will be doing the searching for IPhone 4S users. Basic Business info (such as name, address, telephone number, etc.) should be accessible, on the landing page of your website, and in the correct format so that Siri and other searchers can find it.  AJ Kumar offers great tips:  “Optimize your website for mobile” and “Enhance your digital presence.” In the meantime, let's not abandon local SEO completely.  The full ramifications of Siri on the SEO world still remain to be seen.

Possibly a little over hyped, there are so many of these short sighted articles about the next SEO killer, interesting viewpoint but where is the proof? "Little is known about how exactly Siri collects and processes information, although it's reasonable to assume that the program is drawing on well-cultivated public data sources, including Google Places, Yelp and similar sites." Well you would have to assume that Apple are not going to reinvent the wheel and they will be using existing search data, so if you are well indexed on these. Then the same process exists, well optimized, authoritative and accurate content, will drive the same referral from any source.

Sorry for the inconvenience. We are taking care of this.

someone needs to delete this account. The user spits out pure spam, and I think most of us are getting sick of it!

Article 101 - please annotate your acronyms!  "search engine optimization" (SEO).  I mean Moses Smell the Roses!

SEO boffins will figure out Siri soon enough. Game change <> game over.

Voice recognition isn't new, you're right, but Siri is the first platform to gain any kind of widespread acceptance in this field.  That's what makes it important to pay attention to :)

Right now, it's all speculation in terms of how exactly Siri is pulling and analyzing information.  I'm sure that future testing will uncover more specifics, although for now, we can make some assumptions based on the type of information Siri displays and which results come up based on specific searches.

Robin - That's exactly it.  This is just the start, and there's no doubt in my mind that Apple is already hard at work improving this platform in order to make it a game changer in the future.  Right now, it's just important for business owners to start being aware of how Siri is pulling information and what platforms should be optimized in order to improve mobile discovery through this tool.

Interesting - thanks for sharing the article with Matt Cutts' response. Realistically, traditional SEO is never really going to be dead, but it's still wroth worth paying attention to trends like this and their potential implications for business owners.  Yes, there were voice recognition apps before Siri, but Apple's innovation is the first to really gain widespread traction. And what might be a cool party trick now might be a legitimate information gathering tool in the future, depending on how Apple chooses to move forward with the program.  At any rate, it's not like it's going to hurt business owners to optimize for this type of discovery - really, taking the actions recommended above is just another way to hedge your bets against whatever direction search takes in the future.

Yeah, the word "destroy" might be a little extreme, but do Siri and related technologies have the potential to influence local search and the way people access information?  You better believe it...  The smart business owners are the ones who are paying attention to this kind of thing now.

I've got an idea - why not Google it? Sarcasm intended.

This is the funniest comment here.

And when Apple took SIRI away from the Iphone 3, they lost another host of customers. I'm not upgrading to 4g just for SIRI, I can find a burger the hardway. chas

Myself and Margaret think this article is completely hyped out of all proportion. Go back to journalism school please

Interesting development. Thanks for highlighting this new aspect of SEO on mobile devises. -Ian

Nice article but the title is misleading. To suggest that Local Search will be "destroyed" is inaccurate. Especially when Siri, as you say, and I believe this also, will pull data from "Google Places, Yelp and similar sites".  The other fact is that voice recognition technology has been available for some time now and is in use on various mobile platforms.   Will Siri provide convenience in some cases such as calling a cab or services like this, I believe so.  However, the advantage of Local Search is having access to user reviews and giving power to the end user to choose a service based on the available Local Search data. To think that everyone will blindly take the recommendation of a digital being underestimates our human need and right to choose.  Siri no doubt is cool but it will not "destroy" Local Search.   A similar assertion is made by Laporte at Pubcon in which he mentions Siri in his talk and goes on to suggest that "SEO is dead".  How many times have we heard this before?  Check out Mr. Laporte and Matt Cutts' response to him.  http://bit.ly/rR7NWh 

A few points - I read somewhere that Siri in the USA uses Yelp for it's search functionality... (as Apple and Google aren't exactly best friends at the moment), so surely one of the key lessons learnt is to find out what is being used to drive the system and then make sure you are well represented there - if it's Yelp, then get on Yelp and push hard for positive reviews etc. - Apple recently bought a 3D mapping company and I get the feeling that much as Google has Google Places, Apple may try and either do their own thing or buy someone to cover that side - once they do, that becomes the target for local SEO. - Although not guaranteed, most of the time, Apple is ahead of the curve on stuff like this (e.g. Ipad) and so if they do really get Siri to be effective - it'll change the way we search, not just on the phone, but at home as well. - Siri's local search isn't active in the UK yet, but we'll be paying close attention to who actually is providing the data...

This is all great advice - especially setting up pages on all of those additional websites.  But how much do we know about optimizing for Siri if we don't know how Siri makes her decisions? 

 Thanks and @Mike is right. Now I will offer mobile site.. Brilliant!

I'm pretty sure Mike is referring to accessing a mobile version of the business website on a phone

This is really a nice post, that you have updated us with all of nice information that can be very useful for future aspect. http://ezlocalseo.com/

Nice article.

Dario - Exactly.  Siri is just the start - there's no way Apple released it and thought, "Well, that's fine just the way it is..."  As with all they're products, they're going to be continually refining this thing to improve the way it accesses and manages information. So maybe it won't "destroy" local SEO, but you better believe that the local businesses that take the time to optimize their sites for this type of platform now are going to be in the best position in the long run.

Agreed - "destroy" is perhaps a little extreme.  It's an interesting trend to keep an eye on, though.  Even if adoption of Siri is limited at this point, there's no doubt that Apple and others are working to make the technology even better as we speak.  Once the kinks get worked out, I'd say it could have a tremendous impact on how people access information versus traditional laptops, desktops, etc.

You're right - "destroy" is probably a little extreme, but "change"?  Absolutely.  Any time you're changing the way people access information (which is most certainly the case in Siri adoption), you change the game of how to best optimize for site discovery.  Although the technology is still in its infancy, you can't ignore the fact that people are using Siri to bypass traditional websites and search engine results pages.  That means something to the companies that have optimized their sites to be found in this way, which is what makes it so important for them to consider how they'll be found in a mobile environment.

It'll take time for local businesses to get on board - after all, they're experts in their businesses, not necessarily in marketing (mobile or otherwise).  But you're right that the ones who take the time to do so now will be the ones in the best position going forward.

Search engine optimization. First paragraph, second sentence. If you need an explanation for that, then...

It may have been a good idea to explain what SEO is!

Well...for those that do have blackberry...If you have the google app, you can do the same. The name is not Siri. It is google voice search....So this is not new.

I would add customer lobby.com to this short list as well...

Mike what do you mean by this "I was told 300 million local businesses in US, and only 3 million work on phoness. Big problem, big oppotunity"  "work on phones"  you mean have a phone listing; you mean can be accessed via a phone?  please clarify.

Local businesses still do not see how important getting all their directory listings right, most Google places listings are messed up. Mobile compatible sites, mobile compatible video is not there yet for local businesses because they don't know what they don't know. I know cause I am out everyday trying to wake up business owners, and I see the glazed look in their eyes. I think local SEO is not destroyed as it has been in shambles for years and local business owners have to get the right information from SEO and web consultants and those who will listen will reap the rewards of mobile which is an economy still booming. So I agree with you on so many points, local search, especially on the Iphone with Siri, Androids and tablets  will definitely dwarf local search on computers. I was told 300 million local businesses in US, and only 3 million work on phoness. Big problem, big oppotunity

No worries for now, just apply Pareto's Principle. (80/20 rule) On the other hand, GREAT to do exactly this... "Enhance your digital presence. It's no longer enough to simply set up profiles on Facebook and Twitter and call it a day. Instead, establish a profile on any of the following directories and review sites and encourage customers to rate your business there for maximum exposure. • Google Places • Yahoo Local • Bing Local • Yelp • Grubhub • Open Table • Urbanspoon • Foursquare • Savings.com • Retailmenot • Judy's Book • Citysearch • Superpages • Yellow Pages"All the best, Vincent Medina Google Search Domination Expert [search term]

Destroy? Nope. Change? Possibly. Siri's still pulling info from somewhere and that info is on the pages local companies use to drive foot traffic, though not necessarily online traffic, to their locations. Interesting addition to the game, but it won't eliminate localized SEO.  That said, Siri automatically cheking someone into a place via Facebook does not count as changing local SEO (the article's example). It IS a good example of being incredibly annoying if you're checked into places you don't want everyone to know about - or it gets the address slightly wrong.

That's just it right there.  Any smart, discerning individual will always prefer the ability to search smarter, not just trust.  Yellow Pages still gets more serious, discerning visitors than Google for example when it comes to serious decisions.  Siri-ous does not equal Serious.  SEO is not even the real deal when it comes to the smart shopper, most still grab the book to know they're seeing something other than the algo-garbage based on the wink-wink money buddies !

"Destroy" is a powerful term. It will definitely modify and even impact but not destroy. People will always have a mobil device as well as a laptop, tablet, desktop. The "destruction" would infer that everyone has Siri or a Voice Recognition software and ONLY uses that. It is a "Must be Aware of" but the Local and Hyper-Local space continue to mature and the need to understand and develop with these new application in mind is a must. The Reality though, remains, that SEO - SEM are becoming one in the same of Emerging Media. SEO now includes Listing Management, Syndication, Place Page management, Rep Managment, Mobil interface and a handful of other pieces. Optimization and Managment are key and have a handful of new and emerging pieces that SMB and Marketers alike must be aware of.      

A lot of people dont seem to understand the potential that Siri has. Yes it is too early to say that Siri will be destroying local SEO yes it is to early to say that general SEO will change through this technology. However bare in mind that more people access information through their mobile phone. The glaring success of the iPad is an indicator worth watching. Companies no longer have desktop PCs but give you laptops with connection to a screen. People no longer use mobile phones just to talk but to find information, reserve flights and many other things. New technology will soon bring us perfectly working virtual reality on our phones and tablets. We are more and more mobile and as such programs such as Siri, when further developed, will start replacing browser searches. Discarding Siri as a party tool is a big mistake as well as already claiming that Siri is going to destroy local SEO. However the potential behind this product is unbelievable. If it will have its own search and indexing methods as well as going on Google for you it becomes of utmost importance to adapt your SEO strategy to these new developments. My point being that maybe Siri is not the tool that will destroy local SEO but in days of increased mobility, and trust me, sooner or later there will be one product in the market which will be a game changer and if you then are not prepared its your own fault for not preparing and seeing the signs.

Since the success and popularity of a search engine is determined by its ability to produce the most relevant results to any given search, allowing those results to be false would turn users to find other search sources. Search engines responded by developing more complex ranking algorithms, taking into account additional factors that were more difficult for webmasters to manipulate.

Voice commands are are well and good in a nice quite environment but in the real world public places like a bar, i can't see them being very effective. It will be fun watching slightly intoxicated people shouting into their mobile devices for a taxi at 2am.

All these things should be on the top of every web developers list when building future proof sites.. this changes nothing for seo/web agencies who are already thinking about the future! Looks cool shame I dont really like apple.. grrr, wish someone would remove that apple sized chip off my shoulder LOL

Interesting point, and I'm sure you're right that there will be some geographic variation in how effective Siri is.  In some instances, it'll provide additional options to consider, but in others, it'll eliminate traditional search entirely, which is why it's so important to start thinking about your mobile presence now.

That's part of what will be interesting to see, as it isn't really know exactly what information Siri pulls as part of its algorithm.  Certainly, it'll have more options in some geographic areas, but how it'll determine which result is really best by taking multiple factors into account is still up in the air.  Just like Google's search algorithm, though, you've got to assume it's something they're working on (and really, you'd be amazed by how much personal information people are willing to hand over to Apple!).

Glad you enjoyed the article.  You're right that there are a lot of factors that businesses need to consider, including both a traditional website and mobile-accessible presence.  G+ is going to add a whole other layer of complication, but that's why it's so important to stay up-to-date on new technology like Siri.

Soon, I'm sure!

Good point - sorry to gender stereotype Siri!

Haha - yeah, the "destroy" part might be a little extreme.  But you're right, we SEOs have always adapted to changes in search, and we'll continue to do so with mobile apps like Siri.  Now's the time to start implementing these changes, though.

Larry - Exactly!  Siri adoption is limited right now, but with how positive most of the reviews have been, it's something that's likely going to increase in the future.  Now's the time to think about how your mobile presence should look to take advantage of these innovations.

From what I've found, adoption of Siri is somewhat spotty - some people love it, others don't use it and others don't even have it. But this isn't about nitpicking Siri usage today - it's about looking forward to consider how this new technology could local SEO in the future.  Even if only a small fraction of the millions and millions of current and future iPhone users take advantage of the app, that's a significant portion of the natural SERPs being bypassed.  And yeah, that should matter to business owners who rely on SEO.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but disagree on your arguments.  Plenty of people use mobile check-ins - privacy concerns or not - which is why Foursquare is so popular.  And if people are using these mobile check-ins, they're likely accessing a website's mobile or social site profiles *instead of* the site's actual websites, which means that the local SEO benefit of focusing on ranking your site becomes less important if people aren't actually landing there.  Instead, it's important to optimize for the mobile/social site profiles and the systems that pull from them (like Siri). But yeah, obviously the headline is designed to capture attention - that's what headlines are for.  The important thing isn't nit-picking every detail - it's about being aware of innovations that have the potential to substantially alter the way people and systems interact with information.

For sure.  This is just the start, but it's worth putting some time into thinking about how systems like this pull information and how to maximize your presence in these areas for the future.

Well said.  I don't think that Siri is to the point where "she" is able to find the best possible option yet, but I'm pretty confident that Apple's working on improving it.  Local SEO workers would be smart to keep an eye on how this shapes and changes the field.

Siri might not be working now, but obviously, Apple's working on making it better for the future.  Honestly, I think it's naive to dismiss this potential influence even if Android is growing.  For the time being, the iPhone still has tremendous penetration, as well as a totally loyal customer base that's going to embrace whatever the company throws out (like Siri).

Interesting point.  If nothing else, it's worth keeping an eye on at this point.

Exactly, and well said.  There's no doubt that Siri is going to change the way that some smartphone users access information, and as SEO professionals, it's worth being aware of this shift.

Obviously, Siri isn't going to replace traditional SEO entirely, but it could easily diminish the importance of some local results.  Remember - there were companies before Google, and they probably thought that they'd never be beat as well.  There's always room for improvement and companies providing a better service in order to capture market share.

Yeah - the day Siri gets people dates will be a fun day indeed! But even if the technology isn't there yet, Apple's probably going to be tuning and re-working the search algorithm to make it better and better.  For that reason alone, it's worth keeping an eye on.

Oh! It is unbelievable. I think it would be more helpful to people to gain the information quickly. I am eagerly waiting for it.

Until the day Siri can honestly give me the best Cab company for me (price, service, user generated reviews, location...) asking it "get me a cab" isn't going to be good enough. And that is just a Cab...How about asking "get me a girl friend"? 

Very interesting piece. This will only become more important as time goes on for local businesses. It'll be interesting to see how this effects mobile apps that specialize in finding services (taxis, restaurants, cheap gas).

If you don't know what "SEO" stands for, chances are the article isn't for you.

Interesting article but I agree with most of the comments and don't feel that Siri alone is going to be have a large impact on the local search industry. If any impact is made it will only be one very small niche markets like the cab industry mentioned in the article.

Wow...well your party trick is laughably wrong, uninformed, devoid of even a vague knowledge of what Siri is, what it does and how it works. I use it everywhere no matter the background noise level, anywhere I'm happy to raise my phone to my ear, speak in a normal tone of voice and...it works very well. Siri has learned to distinguish between our 'holiday' home and normal residence and tailors results accordingly. It can formulate/calculate arrival times when travelling and even recognises if I am flying, driving or walking, to name just a few things not available anywhere else. Certainly not in Android or WP7 where, as you point out, the technology doesn't work even though the implementation is at a very basic level. You evidently have never used SIRI Oh and Android is not the #1 selling OS nor even the #1 mobile OS So just because your experience of voice recognition - which SIRI is NOT - has been so poor and evidently you have not used Siri

Getting very worked up because you are focusing on specific references.  Ignore is mistake on Facebook places.  That really isn't the point of this article anyway.  Take away the word Siri and replace with the words automated mobile search which is already on pretty much any smartphone.  Apple are just the kings of making the market aware of what already exists (by branding something that seems new and getting the market excited enough to start talking like this and notice all phones can do a lot of this because so many apps already exist and many can do more or do it better). The main take aways are still valid which wasn't about whether Siri will dominate the world.  The main take aways are automated mobile search is only going to grow and could easily dominate how people search, not 20 years from now, but 20 weeks from now (even if it still yeilds a smaller amount of niche results for a human to still choose which we will adopt because when we are on the go, we prefer speed over breadth of results).  And as a company, you should think about how to make sure you don't get missed because you are only thinking about traditional SEO.    I think that was his main point.  To think about it and make sure you are not being missed. 

I agree with bthomas that Google has too much invested in what you call "traditional search" to let one software developer have that much control over the information search process.  The more people who have a hand in SEO the more fair it is-like a democracy. 

Informative article. I do not believe that is is going to destroy the local seo market, it just means people are going to access it a different way. Tapping into the mobile market is a modern must do thing for anyone or a business. There are a large percentage of users finding businesses from mobile access usage, but I just do not think it will detroy the local seo market. Good post

We have had Voice command like Vlingo for a while and its really has not impacted SEO let alone Local SEO much.  We analyse a lot of sites and traffic but really till now there is no way that we know of if the search is a direct result of the Voice App/SIRI etc. All analytics can do is present the search query and the devise OS. So is SIRI a threat? To early to say and even too early to analyse/measure. So I dont thingk local business should panic just yet. Is optimizing your site as per @AJKUMAR:disqus  suggestion a good idea? yes - basic but yes. SEO is more than just opening up profiles and reviews. I feel local business have an obligation to understand SEO and its impact and then learn how to find a good SEO agency and evaluate them. 

You're assuming too much, the first of which is, Siri works.  It doesn't.  it's still a beta.  the second is, you're assuming everyone will have a 4S.   Apple has stated it will not allow Siri on older (fragmented) phones.  Also, Android has a larger marketshare with Samsung as the #1 phone maker, globally.   Editors need to quit trying to find stories where they can integrate some senseless Apple "love" into the headline.  I know, I know, it generates click throughs and you feel people need to be saturated with MORE and MORE Apple stories.  It's a bit desensitizing now.    Find other things to write about. The golden age of Apple is over.  iOS5.x, Siri, FCPX, 4s and Lion are all disasters, compared to when Steve was in charge (really in charge)

Mobile Websites, Social Media and Local Search Optimization are definitely key factors that will affect small businesses getting found easily by potential customer on the go. But many small businesses are sort of jumping on the bandwagon and beginning to develop mobile versions of their site and hiring online marketers to get their business found. To small business owners, don't forget to add a profile on yp, yelp, google, yahoo, manta, merchantcircle, and the other sites listed above, they really do drive local traffic to your site, then to your place of business.

I agree - SEO and Local SEO is always changing 

Albeit its worth reading but I dont go with it completely.. 

Very informative article. Local SEO was the beginning, now we have voice-activated Siri on a mobile device level, and we can only imagine what the next leap will be. Exciting times. 

He's just trying to write an interesting article so they get more pageviews and more $$$ on their website man. But well said.

Had to look up local SEO to be able to know what on earth the article was on about. We're not all acronym mad you know. If you want to use them please say what they are on the first occurrence.

It's probably not going to happen.  In order for the voice recognition to be useful at all, it needs internet connectivity.  Having the almost unlimited database of keywords/voices is what makes services like this possible. Local storage of that information would be a massive failure.

Android is the #1 selling OS.  I disagree with the author entirely...Siri is not a game changer, it IS a party trick.  Mobile search will continue to grow, but not because people are yelling at their phones.  It's impractical, and works very poorly in noisy areas.  Android has the same problem, WP7 has the same problem...It's systemic to voice recognition.  When you're in the comfort of your home or maybe cruising down the freeway, sure it will work fine. But in a busy subway, a workplace, walking down the street, it just doesn't work very well.  Services like this will only face mass adoption when they work in 90% of all situations, and this simply doesn't.

No matter what someone or a something  (Siri) is looking for, there will still be a best possible option so you will be able to optimize for that person or device.  Local SEO will just evolve into something else just like SEO in general does all the time. As long as their are decisions to be made there will be those who attempt to shape those decisions. 

Great points, and great thinking pattern. I would love to pick your brain. 

Not at all but ok. Keep telling your friends about your awesome Droid.

These functions are by no means universal ... yet. We in Europe have a few years to get our house in order. Still, there will be pressure on these apps to get their information from somewhere ... and a n°1 ranked website seems a pretty smart place to start.

one point in this article tells me u dont know what u r talking about, period: "As an example, automatically checking people in to Facebook places eliminates the need to visit those places' websites." 1. This is pointless for anyone who has the smallest respect for their privacy. Most people selectively check in to places and would not like the fact that their facebook will be reporting things they do and places automatically. so unless one has no problem with having the world know his/her constant whereabouts your example is irrelevant 2. You do NOT visit any places' WEBSITE. You simply use your facebook app check-in feature and check in. Numerous times I have checked into businesses that did not even have a website. Ok? but I will give u a run down of other reasons why things like siri may not work as u claim: 1. Siri or things like it will have many shortcomings for quite a while before perfection of technologies used in them. Voice recognition has to understand a mumbling, drunk cab customer. it currently does not.  2. Siri would be incapable of reading and comprehending reviews and distinguishing between fake and useful ones and making a decision based on those types of content of which one of the cab companies to call. If you have ever gotten into checking reviews before purchasing stuff you realize it is not a very accurate tool. Many reviews are flawed or fake for various reasons. 3. Google, Yelp, Facebook are all run as private corporations in the sense that they can abruptly and without much notice amend their terms and conditions banning things like siri from ruining their traffic and ad revenue or modify their rules so that Siri has to all of a sudden pay expensive licensing fees for that information which those companies OWN. Read TOS on any one of these three to realize that pretty much any content hosted by them including your private data is part their property while there... 4. Competition & Availability:  iPhone is no longer the only smart phone capable of doing amazing things. In fact in means of capabilities it has already fallen behind the curve thanks to Androids rapid take over of the market. Various competing apps already do many of things Siri does. That kind of competition is exactly what prevents pointless monopolies apple loves to play, it will force apple to constantly spend money on improving the search and selection protocol which WILL BE VERY EXPENSIVE. Remember bing? Yahoo? Altavista? etc... remember all of these SEARCH GIANTS who tried to get near google? Well, google had a prefectly crafted code at all times and spent all of its money on keeping it that good. it became google. That's the path Siri will have to take in order for your imagination to actually take place in reality. You think Apple will waste its resources on a limited app that has so much free competition already doing a decent job? You think apple does no cost-benefit analysis? You think apple underestimates the fact that if Google decided it can literally pwn its little Siri with an overnight web app available on all platforms? Siri is Apple & iphone 4 exclusive and so if that population and demographics to you represents the entire searching crowd, well, I can only say you sound like a apple groupie. Point is, many people who write articles like this, also claimed a few years back that the end of PC as we know it has arrived and PADS will take their place. Guess what? Statistics and analytical forecasts have all rejected that notion and only expect PC market to grow for the next decade or so. I would say at best, this article is titled wrongly and written 20 years earlier than it should have been written. Maybe then something like siri taking advantage of VI technologies not yet perfected or even made, will be able to do what you imagined here, MAYBE.

While the 4s is selling like gang busters, it is by no means the only game in town and Android devices continue to gain significant share.  Will traditional SEO/ SEM change- absolutely.  But will the industry die- I don't think so.  Local will continue to be extremely relevant and ways to optimize for Siri esque approach will soon surface.  But at the end of the day it is still about relevant content and making sure that you deeply understand your target audience's needs, wants, purchase cycle, etc. 

There's no doubt that mobile website optimisation is going to be key in all web design from now so it's fantastic to get these insights early on.  Particularly interested in the Google+ aspect, who knows where that's going to lead

Actually a very good point. Local SEO will still matter I think only and only become more competative

Self-promotion FAIL.

I have to say that I have used the Google version of Siri and a few other’s like Dragon, and they are no way as straight forward as the companies make them out to be. I am a Brit and when I try and use the Google system it almost always does not understand what I say, even simple words like “Call Home”.  I understand that most systems need to be trained but I find it simpler just to pull my finger out of my pocket and tap and few buttons.

I think that as long as you have a presence over several web properties you should be fine.  The suggestion or results that are found by Siri has to be relevant.  So being relevant is being visible on all the local web properties

Yes, every small business needs to make sure their site shows up on an iPhone or Droid or any other smart phone device whether the user used siri to find them or not. Since Google Places (Maps) is already "mobile friendly" most of my SMB clients hire guys like me to make sure their GP Listing is optimized so they have a fighting chance of getting those mobile buyers to find them in a local sarch

Not sure how I feel about it but definitely an interesting read...

I love Siri, and have been using it more and more each day.   

Nice article but can SIRI book Airline Tickets? Is it open? Is it Cross-Platform and available in 23 languages? I work for them, so ok I'm biased but Teneo Mobile is like SIRI on steroids...