Voice Search Optimization
Successfully optimizing your website for search engines has been an essential part of digital marketing for some time now, but SEO never stands still, so neither can you. The rise in popularity of voice search on both smart home devices and smartphones has changed the way we search for information, meaning that you need to change the way you help to find it on your website.
By 2023, it’s predicted that 50% of all searches will be voice searches, while voice commerce is expected to be worth $40bn by 2024, so this is not a bandwagon you can afford to miss out on. Even if you aren’t already set up to rank highly in voice search, there are some easy steps you can take.
In the past 12 months, over two-thirds of all smartphone users have used voice search to look for information about nearby businesses. More than 25% of users of desktop, laptop, and tablet computers. Businesses must make sure their websites are optimized to stay up with the way Google processes search queries as a result of the influence of voice search.
Speed is the secret to voice search. When someone asks for information aloud, Google is aware that they don’t want to hold out for an answer. The SEO ranks on Google are improving for websites that load more rapidly.
Additionally, the informal nature of voice search places more weight on writing in a conversational tone. Customers are asking questions in plain English, and they expect quick, straightforward answers like those that are often provided on a FAQ page.
There are several factors at play to get ranked by Google for voice search, with speed one of the most important, so improvements like optimizing images and minifying files can all help your pages load quickly enough. Security is another factor, with over 70% of Google Home result pages now secured with HTTPS, so it’s essential to get a certificate from a trusted brand if you are going to be featured.
One of the most useful pages you can create to help optimize your site for voice search is a Frequently Asked Questions page, which offers answers to important questions about your products or services in the kind of format naturally suited to the way we ask questions vocally.
Google uses snippets to highlight key search results and 53% of voice searches return a snippet, so understanding how they work and what you can do to try and end up being featured in this way is a big step in the right direction.
Local Search Results
Increase your focus to boost your local search results. Location-based inquiries about location, hours of operation, etc. make up a significant portion of mobile and voice searches. Don’t overlook the local search results you may improve by claiming and maintaining your Google My Business listing. Then, you may create better content that responds to location-based queries more quickly.
Long-tail search terms
Focus on long-tail keywords to voice-search-optimize your website. When writing material that you want voice search to identify, utilize everyday language that people use in conversation. You should then think about local SEO. For the regions you’re aiming for, create location-specific content. By doing this, you’ll have a better chance of topping search results pages produced by the voice.
Natural language
When utilizing voice assistants, individuals use conversational language, which frequently consists of lengthier, more precise search terms. Therefore, to optimize for voice search, marketers must particularly concentrate on long-tail keywords.
Structure Your FAQ Page Correctly
There is no denying the growth of voice search. You must design your material in accordance with the varied phrases that this type of searcher utilizes. Start by writing FAQs that sound more conversational than formal. You have a better chance of receiving featured snippets from Google if you properly structure them on your website. Uncertain about where to begin with the content? To find ideas and inspiration, read your web reviews.
Answer Questions
For voice search, people frequently use lengthier and more specific searches. The most common verbal questions begin with “who,” “what,” “where,” or “how.” Create thorough responses to the questions about your brand that are frequently asked. Ensure that this information addresses the who, what, where, and how of your goods and services, and where applicable, inject some humor.
Identify Important Questions To Focus On
Longer inquiries in voice search frequently contain a question. Identifying the questions for which you’d like to be the answer is one strategy for optimizing your content for voice search, and then integrating those real questions in the relevant content on your site in full, natural language, is another. In this manner, you can have the chance to come up in searches for the issues that matter the most to you.
Be Simple With Your Keywords
It’s crucial to keep the terms straightforward when optimizing for voice recognition searches. People don’t elaborate when they ask questions about Alexa or their smartphones. Something too sophisticated won’t be recognized by the software. So, the easier you can make things while still having good SEO, the better!
Brief And Simple To Understand
Marketers had to change print material for the web decades ago. Concise product descriptions and value propositions were necessary to avoid consumer bouncing. Then came the smartphone revolution, forcing marketers to adjust to material displayed on a small screen, social media marketing, and video. Voice assistants raise the bar on that. Marketers must use straightforward language that can be understood in no more than five seconds.
Optimize For Traditional And Voice Search Traffic
Use long-tail keywords that are extremely relevant to your product or service (usually five to nine words) to improve your website’s content so that search engines can crawl it. Your site should be optimized for both voice search and traditional web traffic since people voice search more frequently with longer, more precise words than they do with standard search terms in a browser.
Regional Differences In Spoken Dialects
It’s critical to keep in mind the languages and dialects that your target audience may speak when optimizing content for voice search. Since spoken and written languages differ, marketers must make sure that their keyword strategies are tailored to the needs of each individual nation and region.
Effects Of Spelling
How simple it is to write down and pronounce your brand or offering is one of the most important factors to take into account. While brands like Ford are unaffected by this, any brand that utilizes creative spelling or contains any ambiguity is. If you are unable to alter the brand itself, make each campaign’s collateral simple to recall and distinctive.
Keep Idioms And Speech Patterns In Mind
Instead of the usual SEO focus on keywords, when we optimize our material for voice search, we take a closer look at speech patterns. Remember that speech patterns include idioms that will differ by nation, culture, and sector.
Respond for User Queries
As a marketer, you should consider any queries your visitors might have and provide the information they need on your website. This improves the user experience and produces more enlightening material, increasing the likelihood that your website will appear in featured snippets, which is where Alexa and Siri frequently get their answers.