Smart speaker adoption and mobile voice assistant usage are getting more popular. As per Comscore, almost 50% of all internet search engines are expected to be voice-based by 2024. More people are getting used to voice searches as they are more natural ways to get information, which makes them more intuitive. Voice searches are especially ruling for "near me" searches, influencing more and more local businesses. Further, voice shopping is also one of the trends as it allows users to look up and purchase products in the easiest way. You may even have come across many TV commercials where someone uses voice search to look for a particular product. In the present scenario, if you don’t plan ahead to optimize your site for voice search, you may be losing a huge number of prospective clients. This piece will direct you through the process of optimizing your website for voice search.
How is Voice
Search different from Textual Search?
Voice queries are usually longer and more conversational, while text queries are usually shorter and easy to pronounce. For example, the voice search user can say, "What is the best way to make chocolate cake?" while a text search user might type "chocolate cake recipe".
When voice search is used, the queries are often local, as the users look for businesses or services that are nearby. For example, the voice search user can just ask, "Where can I get a haircut in New York?" while a text search user might type "Hair salon New York".
Voice search queries are question-based, as users expect answers from their voice assistants to be direct and specific. For example, the voice search user might say, "How many calories are in a banana?" while a text search user might type "banana calories".
Voice search results have only one or a few options because voice assistants typically choose the most relevant or authoritative option from the web. For example, a voice search user may hear, "According to Wikipedia, a banana has about 89 calories," while a text search user might see a list of websites with different information about bananas.
According to SEO Toronto Experts, to optimize for voice search, you need to take into account these differences and tweak your SEO strategies congruently.
By using long-tail keywords and conversational language in your content, that naturally matches how people search. For instance, your primary keyword can be "chocolate cake," but you can use "how to make a moist and fluffy chocolate cake".
You can improve your local SEO by claiming and updating your business listings on sites like Google My Business and by adding location-specific keywords to your content. For an instance, you could do "New York" or "USA” and put it into your title, meta description, and heading names.
Developing quality content that can rank as a featured snippet in the Google search results page will help drive organic traffic coming to your business. For example, you can create an FAQ page and blog post in which questions are "What are the benefits of chocolate cake?" or "What are the ingredients of chocolate cake?" and you can bullet points, tables, or lists to structure the answer.
Perform and analyze the performance of voice search by using tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, or Bing Webmaster Tools, and learn which keywords, questions, and topics drive the most traffic from voice search to your website. For example, by using the “Queries” report in the Google Search Console, you can see what questions voice search users are asking and check how your site ranks for those search terms.
Does Optimizing
for Voice Search Conflict with Other Optimization Methods?
Optimization for voice search may produce some optimization trade-offs with other optimization techniques. It depends on your objectives and audience, though. For instance:
- To comply with the voice search, a tone change could be necessary, so your language may become more casual, which might not be in line with your brand’s style or the style of the industry.
- The keywords that are used in voice search can be different from those used in text search, which means they should be restructured.
- Site speed is critical because voice searches require rapid response. As a result, optimization steps like the reduction of image or script size and the use of CDN are recommended.
- Questions like interpreting user intent and giving the proper responses come up, and they need constant upgrading.
- Balancing up the voice search benefits with other SEO targets is a must, though it may take some experimentation to discover working strategies for your site’s and your audience’s benefit.
What do you need
to do to rank on the Voice Searches?
You need to create your content around voice search by accommodating the behaviour patterns and preferences of voice searchers. Let's explore these strategies in depth
Targeting
Question Keywords and Long-Tail Keywords
The voice searches are more likely to be the whole questions or longer and more particular phrases, as opposed to the textual queries. This is because speaking needs less energy level, hence, users are more willing to ask complicated questions by voice. The way to address the shift is by utilizing common long-tail keywords, including those in a question format, in your content. Long-tail keywords, with three or more words, are specific in nature. Thus, they have willing users who are looking for a solution and face less competition. Use query tools and do a search on Google's "related searches" to find and target question keywords for your audience.
Using
Conversational Language
As voice searches are quite conversational, adapting a laid-back and friendly style is crucial to your content. Include daily language, and have an appropriate balance of technical jargon and humour so that your content can meet the expectations of voice queries. Although keeping a friendly tone, the core of the idea is to create useful and important content for your users, causing search engines to value the quality of the content.
Prioritizing
Local SEO
Local search engine optimization is tremendously important to businesses, especially those with a physical presence, as voice searchers’ main target is the company located close by. For better local SEO, make sure that you create and optimize a Google Business Profile to which you add correct and complete information about your business. Getting complete listings helps your business to be included in the voice search local results, thereby bringing people from your area to you.
Capturing Google
Featured Snippets
Featured snippets, prominent snippets that are placed on the homepage of the search engine site, are important eye-catchers for voice search queries. These short snippets give users rapid responses to search queries that readily make them the foundation for voice search search engine optimization. Getting a featured snippet is not always a certainty, so write high-quality and informative content that will attend to the most frequent user questions, and the chances of being featured will increase.
Implementing
Schema Markup
The schematic markup, which is the form of structured data embedded in your website HTML, enhances the knowledge of search engines about your content. Schema markups, which is a type of HTML code that you can add to your webpages, allow you to provide detailed information such as business hours, addresses, and reviews that make your website show up more prominently in search results, thus including voice search results. Integrate schema markup to help in the determination of relevance and visibility of your website.
Benefits of Voice
Search Optimization
Voice search is changing the game in digital marketing. With Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Alexa answering questions by reading featured snippets, businesses must focus on earning these snippets to stay ahead. As voice search grows, so does the importance of Position Zero in search results. Ranking here boosts visibility and steals traffic from competitors.
Voice search also emphasizes conversational queries, altering how marketers research keywords and create content. Businesses are turning to artificial intelligence for insight into the massive amounts of voice search data. Mobile-friendly websites are crucial as voice searches mainly happen on mobile devices.
Local businesses benefit from voice search, with over half of consumers using it to find local businesses. Micro-moments, like "I-want-to-know" or "I-want-to-do," become vital in voice search optimization.
Ignoring voice search means missing out
on revenue and customer engagement. Over 50% of voice-enabled speaker owners
want updates from brands. To get ahead, optimize for voice search and consider
expert assistance. A comprehensive digital marketing strategy tailored for
voice search is essential for business growth in this evolving landscape.
In short,
Optimizing your website for voice search
and SEO is crucial in today's digital landscape. With voice search expected to
dominate internet searches by 2024, businesses must adapt to meet the needs of
users who rely on voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant. This means
targeting question keywords, using conversational language, prioritizing local
SEO, capturing featured snippets, and implementing schema markup. Ignoring
voice search optimization means missing out on valuable opportunities for visibility,
engagement, and revenue generation. In essence, embracing voice search is
essential for staying competitive and connecting with modern consumers.