Getting found on Alexa (let’s call it “SAO” – Search Alexa Optimization) – At Project Voice, I asked Amazon Alexa’s Jeff Blankenburg how businesses can get found on Alexa. While waking Alexa with a phrase like “Alexa, how do I make a Jack-o-lantern” I’ve noticed more frequently over the last 6 months that if Alexa doesn’t have an answer, it will suggest Skills that do. So if we build “How to build a Jack-o-lantern” into our Carmen Johnston Gardens Skill, for example, along with hundreds of other Home, Garden, Recipe and how-to tips – users may not actually need to say “Alexa, Launch Carmen Johnston Gardens” to find that content. Alexa should start to say “I have a skill that you could try…” after the user simply says “…. How to make a Jack-o-lantern.”

I confirmed with Blankenburg that nobody really knows how this formula works, but he says the more content, and the better description and keywords in the Alexa Skills Kit console, the more likely your skill is to be recommended as a result for these “voice assistant searches.”

Blankenburg confirmed that partnerships are not paid currently, so any business with a skill can show.

GET. IN. NOW!

Jeff Blankenburg, Alexa Evangelist, shares his perspective on voice at-large. He goes into why he's excited for small-business owners in particular, from realtors to family-owned restaurants, to get into using Voice. And he ends on how Alexa-as-a-Companion is building trust.