What a week. In this digital age, the ripple from a wave extends a long way, across many industries. Apple’s co-founder and figurehead, Steve Jobs, passed away this week at 56 years old. A wide range of people at the tops of several industries have made a point to tip their hat to Steve Jobs and his brilliant impact on the world and all of our lives. He has created a legacy with limitless potential, that we will be reminded of with each new product and service that Apple introduces.

In a fitting manner, Apple released the I-Phone 4S this week, with a new technology that many believe will be a major game changer in the industry. This new technology is called Siri, a personal assistant application that reacts to voice commands and questions. While demonstrating the new phone’s exciting addition, Apple’s software VP Scott Forstall asked Siri matter-of-factly “Will I need a raincoat today?”, to which she replied quickly “Looks like rain”. Siri will also help searchers find local stores, restaurants, and services. So now, instead of taking the (still relatively short time) to search your phone for this information on a browser or separate application, Siri will respond in no time with an accurate answer. Siri can also make appointments, send messages, and a wide variety of other functions you would want from an actual personal assistant.

From an SEO standpoint, Siri’s introduction to the world is a revelation. In early interviews, Jobs claimed Siri was not a tool to help bring Apple into the search market. But like it or not, by using Yelp as the exclusive data provider for Siri’s local information, Apple has a dog in the fight, and is now a direct competitor to Google’s Places pages.

In an earlier post, we talk about the importance of local businesses claiming or submitting their business to Yelp. At the time of that post, Yelp was important as a data provider for search engines like Google and Bing who would pull info and reviews from the popular review site. Now that millions of excited Apple users will be turning to Siri (and singing its praises once the bugs are worked out), it has become more than important to perform local optimization on your Yelp page. Now, it’s vital.

In addition to making sure all of your information is accurate and your photos and descriptions are listed; you will want to entice your current loyal customers to review your site. Siri will be taking reviews and ratings into consideration, though not always directly. Respond in a professional manner to your negative reviews. Respond enthusiastically to your positive ones. Offer incentives to existing and new customers to have them write about you. There are also professional SEO firms that can optimize and manage your Yelp local pages and review management for you.

Before the news that Steve Jobs had passed, there was tremendous buzz that Apple could be releasing the IPhone 5, and a collective sigh that only the 4S would be released for the time being. But as the impact of the 4S and its new technology ripples from industry to industry and to the hands of more and more searchers, one has to take a minute this week to see how far we’ve come thanks to one man’s creative visions.

The Google/Apple war rages on. With the release of the iPad, and a thickening plot that adds Verizon Wireless, Adobe, and even China to the expanding list of Google foes, it’s impossible to ignore the situation.

But why should we care? As consumers, what implications does this have for us? And as business professionals, what lessons can we take away?

Competition breeds innovation.

Google and Apple – two companies with formerly divergent products – now compete with hardware, software, and even advertising. When two similar brands battle, greater innovation and lower prices ensue, and consumers inevitably emerge victorious.

Google has struggled to profit from anything but search, which is why hardly a week goes by without word of another Google innovation. The Nexus One left the iPhone in its dust with features like a better camera and copy/paste capability. Only time will tell how Apple will retaliate. (Some speculate that Apple may eventually lower prices.)

Brand trust is a must.

Google had been criticized of rushing to get Nexus One on the market, and letting customer service fall by the wayside. While Apple conducted years of research and nailed down all necessary patents before bringing the iPhone to market, Google’s entrance into the mobile market was rushed in comparison.

This raises the question of how much money consumers will invest in Android apps, knowing Google might not continue with the Nexus One. Apple’s iPhone, on the other hand, already has apps that will work on the iPod and iPad. For the time being, Apple has the key advantage of higher consumer trust.

All eyes are on search.

It’s obvious that there’s plenty of money to be made in search, specifically in paid search. Turning search queries into leads has become huge business. Google commands this market, generating money through online advertising. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster recently predicted another significant result of the feud: Apple’s foray into the search realm:

We believe the odds of Apple developing a search engine in the next five years are 70%. One hurdle for Apple in developing its own search engine would be generating enough advertiser interest to form a competitive marketplace; however, we believe the rationale for an Apple search product is to protect data rather than generate profit.

Apple may not seem like a big threat in the search world. However, since it controls more than half of the mobile Web market share, Munster suggests Apple can use the data it has captured from having Google maps and search accessible on the iPhone to improve its own products, ultimately surpassing Google in the search arena.