It is changing with even greater convenience and speed of access to information in today’s fast-moving world. The internet could be accessed through virtual assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa. Online searches are today.
What is voice search?
Voice search is the web technology that allows users to surf the web giving voice commands rather than typing related keywords on a search bar. Instead of asking “Best Italian restaurant near me,” users may ask their assistant, “What’s the best Italian restaurant nearby?
Though the output is often more chatty, concise, and regional, the voice search results are mostly composed of the above-mentioned spoken queries by virtual assistants, Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana, in order to decode them with the use of voice recognition and natural language processing.
Importance of Voice Search Optimization
As voice-enabled devices and smart speakers increasingly take the stage along with smartphones, the need for website optimization to be able to accommodate voice search has become highly relevant. And it’s for the following reasons:
Growing Use of Mobile: Voice searches are mainly coming from mobiles. The fact that mobile internet usage finally overtook desktop use meant that businesses needed to be accessed through voice.
Local Search Impact: 95% of the voice search is about local intent. People are searching for information related to businesses or services nearby, restaurants, and more. So, there is the optimization for voice search, and the probability of ranking in the local results increases.
Evolution of Search Engines: Google and many other search engines focus more on user experience and the conversational basis of their searches. In such dimensions, a website catering to voice search ranks better.
User Experience This will, therefore translate to quicker, more concise answers presented via voice search, which increases the user experience thus increasing engagement, lowers bounce rates, and provides much better overall SEO performance.
Differences of Voice Search SEO Compared to Traditional SEO
Voice search optimization and traditional SEO share so many similarities, but the differences are much more significant:
Long Tail Keyword: The voice search queries are mainly phrases and are very more conversational than the text-based ones. A user can type “weather forecast,” but a voice search will pose the question, “What’s the weather like today in New York?”
Question-Based Searches: Most of the voice searches are query-related. The use of voice assistants is for how-to questions or to find some specific information.
Local Searches: Voice search is mainly local-centric searches. So, at this point in time, it becomes even more important that your business should be highly optimized in local SEO and Google My Business.
Featured Snippets and Position Zero: Voice usually selects its answers from featured snippets or “position zero” responses. Optimizing content that is easy to understand and quick will increase your chances of being chosen as a voice search answer.
Working Steps to Optimize Your Website for Voice Search
There are four steps you will have to walk through when optimizing your website for voice search:
1. Long-Tail Phrases vs. Conversational Keywords
While traditional SEO often targets a short specific keyword, voice search queries are more conversational. Look for long-tail keywords and questions about your business by using Google’s Keyword Planner or Answer the Public.
Use: Don’t target “Italian restaurants.” Target “Where can I find the best Italian restaurant near me?” Create content answering the questions in a conversational form.
2. Optimize for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are the short, answer-focused results you see at the top of the SERPs. These types of snippets are often where voice queries draw their answers from.
How do I optimize for featured snippets?
Answer directly and in-depth: Make sure that you directly answer some of the most common questions within the first 40-50 words.
You should organize your content with headings and lists: Proportionate organization of content using distinct headings, bullet points, and step-by-step guides improves your chances of attaining a featured snippet.
3. Use Local SEO
Most of the voice search users mainly aim at searching for local details; therefore, you’re optimization for local SEO will come in handy. Here’s how you can just do that
Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing. Make sure the hours, address, phone number, and services you are offering are up-to-date.
Use local terms while using the content of your website. For example, you could mention the city or neighborhood where you are.
Customer reviews count in ranking voice searches for local businesses, so foster excellent reviews.
4. Speed Up Your Website.
Another ranking consideration in traditional and voice search SEO is page speed. The faster your site loads, the higher its chances are of ranking better in searches. Some of the optimizations include compressing images using compression tools, reducing HTTP requests by putting them to rely on browser caching, and using a content delivery network to reduce server load times. Other tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights can also point to places you need to improve your site.
Structured Data and Schema Markup
Schema markup makes it easier for search engines to understand your content. It makes you more likely to show up in search results that can be displayed in rich carousels that might even encompass voice search results.
Comment on FAQ schema about question answering and LocalBusiness schema for your results showing up in the local results. Implement schema markup to your website through Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
Mobile Optimization
Make sure your website is fully mobile optimized since most of the voice search will be on a mobile device; thus, it should not only have a responsive design but also speed when opening your pages and better user experience on mobile devices.
There is a Mobile-Friendly Test tool by Google, which can determine whether your website has met the mobile optimization standard or not.
Conversational Content
Make your content sound conversational. That’s how voice search users are posing their questions, so that’s exactly how you want to sound. Answer common questions directly and make the content easy to understand.
Use Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to develop your voice search-friendly website is by having a deep FAQs page. Most of the voice queries are in a question form; thus, by creating a FAQ page that answers the most common questions regarding your products or services, you’ll have a higher chance of coming up during a voice search.
Voice Search Optimization Tools and Resources
Some of the best tools that can be used while developing voice search-friendly websites include:
Google Keyword Planner: With this, I’ll know which are relevant and long-tail keywords pertaining to the topic
Answer the Public: A tool that would provide insight to the user about the questions that people are asking about a topic.
Google PageSpeed Insights: Takes analysis on how well your site performs with suggestions on how to make pages load faster
Structured Data Testing Tool: This tool will be able to check whether the markup for structured data on the page has been correctly implemented.
Mobile-Friendly Test: Checks on whether your site is friendly to mobile users
These are some of the tools that guide you on how to collect the right data and go about making the perfect decision on just how to optimize your website for voice search.
Conclusion: Welcome the Future of SEO into Voice Search
Voice search is emerging as a mammoth in the field of SEO; which really calls for a much deeper understanding of voice search queries, conversational keywords, and optimization for local SEO and featured snippets.
Voice technology is now evolving, so it is high time for you to prepare your website for this exciting and fun search experience. The strategies used here will put you on the path toward preparing your website for a future voice search.
It is now high time to take the reins with voice search optimization to ensure your business thrives for many years to come!