Voice Search Concept
“Hey, Google!”
“How can I help you?”
“Is there a burrito place nearby?”
Just like that, you get a list of high-ranking eateries serving burritos near your location within two or three seconds. Definitely beats opening a browser and typing in the question More and more people are using voice search every day, making it important for businesses to optimize their websites to rank higher on voice searches as well as text searches. Your target audience is changing rapidly and to keep up with them, you need to incorporate their preferences and habits in your marketing strategy.
Optimizing your website for voice search should be on your list of priorities. While Google has always been the most preferred text search engine, its popularity grew with the introduction of voice search.
According to Forbes, one billion voice searches were made monthly by January 2018. Imagine how much the numbers might have grown since then! The article predicts that by the year 2020, more than half of all online searches will be made using the voice command.
One short answer – smartphones!
Almost everyone has a smartphone nowadays and we use it the most when looking up things. Using the voice search command makes online search quicker and easier, especially when you are on the road or otherwise occupied. Along with these statistics, this means that optimizing your website for voice search is an integral part of increasing traffic to your website.
Following are some of the best ways to create a voice search-optimized website:
Listing your business on Google My Business is most important if you have a local business. If you aren’t listed, then your business will drown underneath dozens of other local businesses in a voice search, even if it is the most relevant of all the options.
Unlike text search results, voice search for both Apple and Android devices gives preference to business listings. Therefore, listing your business is the first step to reap the benefits of a voice search-optimized website. If you need to learn how to claim your listing on GMB read our post here.
In most cases, a user will typically ask their voice search tool a question, so you need to create a page specifically to answer questions your target audience most commonly asks. Think of the typical queries your potential customers might have regarding your products or services, or general questions relating to your niche. Make sure to include them all in this page so that the voice assistant can use your information to answer the user’s question.
Researching relevant keywords is important for optimization, but keep in mind that online users will be speaking instead of typing. This means they will utilize a long string of words, so you need to include long-tail keywords instead of short ones.
Opting for long-tail keywords can help in optimizing your website for the featured snippets. Voice assistants are more focused on directing the user towards the best suitable product or action instead of offering them a list option.
The successful optimization of your website with relevant keywords also depends on the quality of the content you provide. It is essential to include high-quality content that offers value to users, providing them with solutions to their problems.
The more valuable your content is, the higher it will rank on search engine results. It is best to provide both long-form and short-form content. Short-form content focuses on providing quick answers from your website, whereas long-form content keeps them interested in your brand and becoming your regular customers or readers.
Voice searches focus mostly on finding a product or service nearby. Therefore, you must ensure the keywords you utilize are local and offer solutions accordingly.
Your target audience will ask questions in simple words, which the voice assistant will base its search results. The shorter the answer is, the more likely users are to read it first. If they are satisfied with the answer, they might even open your website to explore further.
Therefore, you should focus on providing valuable information in short and in simple words to organically enhance the traffic of your website.
Lastly, the loading speed of your web page plays a crucial role in the search results ranking. This is true for both text search and voice search.
Since there is a large amount of information on the web, the quicker your website loads, the greater chance it has of ranking higher in search results. To ensure that you maintain a high ranking in search results, you need to regularly monitor the loading time of each of your web pages
Voice searches have become a major trend in today’s fast-paced world – the quicker you add it to your website, the better. However, to reap the full benefits of voice search, you must make sure that you have a voice search-optimized website.
Indeed, it can be difficult to focus on ranking high on both text and voice search, but with the right strategy and action plan, you can successfully optimize your website for both.. Using a combination of long-tail and short-tail keywords is one of the most effective ways of maintaining a fully optimized website. Don’t be afraid to get professional help if you are having problems —a small initial investment is bound to bring substantial results in the future!
Read my previous blog on Covid-19 & How it creates a blue ocean shift in marketing and search.
