Voice search is one of the biggest buzzwords in the digital marketing arena. With the growth in the number of smart home devices and smartphones, voice search has been able to transform the SEO strategies. Sundar Pichai has already told the media that 20% of mobile search queries are voice searches. This stat is from 2017, so you can understand how impactful it can be in 2020. Global Web Index found that 1 in 5 adults use their mobile’s voice search at least once a month. If your website isn’t optimized for voice search then you’re missing out on a lot of traffic. The damage will only worsen if you don’t optimize your site soon. Why? Because the use of voice search is subjected to increase in the coming months. Since the arrival of voice search, the number of voice search queries has risen over 35 times. Changes like this happen often. As a marketer, you can make full use of this opportunity by optimizing your content according to voice search.
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How to perform Voice Search SEO?
Before we begin discussing how you can optimize your content for voice search, you should take a look at what makes voice search different from text search:
The Difference between Text Search and Voice Search
While one may believe that there shouldn’t be a difference between voice search and text search, the reality is quite different. Text searches are vague and lack specificity. On the other hand, voice searches are clear and specific. For example, a person looking to find out about Leonardo DiCaprio will only put in the term “Leonardo DiCaprio”. The same person, while using Google Assistant, or any other voice search tool will ask, “Who is Leonardo DiCaprio?” Both of the queries are similar but the voice search query is much specific than the text one. Understanding this key difference can help you in devising better content strategies and create better content for your audience.
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How to Optimize Content for Voice Search
Voice search can drive a lot of traffic to your site. All you have to do is start implementing these strategies:
Short Queries:
People don’t do a voice search for long and descriptive queries. They wouldn’t search “how to increase my traffic in 2020” or “is going to the gym worth the effort”. Some people might search for such queries but most of the times, voice search is used for short and specific queries such as:
• Restaurants near me
• Where can I buy groceries?
• Attractions near my home
• What is SEO?
• Define hiking
As you can see, the queries are short, direct and don’t require a lot of explanation. You will need to incorporate answers to such short queries in your content. This way you will be able to get traffic from voice searches. You will need to develop a deep understanding of your audience in order to create such content. Understand what they look for and you’ll be able to get ahead with voice search SEO.
Questions and Answers:
Most of the queries on voice search are questions. When someone asks a question using voice search, he or she gets a snippet of the best answer. Google Snippets were already a hot SEO tool for marketers but voice search has increased their importance tremendously. Both Google Assistant and Google Home read out the snippets and mention the website name while answering the user’s query.
How do you get in Google Snippet?
Easy, provide quality answers to the questions your audience asks. It will be great if you add an FAQ section on your website. Google doesn’t provide a specific guideline on how to rank in Google Snippets. However, with quality content, you can certainly achieve that position. You can find the questions people look for and provide a compilation of answers for the same. Include ‘Why’, ‘What’ and ‘How’ questions in your content to make sure they provide the maximum value.
Great Local SEO
If you have a local business, then you can leverage voice searches. The chances of mobile voice searches to be local than regular is 3 times higher so you can understand why it is beneficial for local online businesses. Most of the times people want to take action while using mobile voice search. They may want to find the local pharmacy or the best places to eat. To make sure you get the traffic from such queries, you should maintain a strong online presence. Have a Google My Business page; mention your location and local keywords on your site. People who find a store online are likely to visit it on the same day. Therefore, doing local SEO will definitely drive more results.
Increased Importance of Long-tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords have always been a part of SEO strategies. Voice search is only going to increase their importance. Such keywords are more specific than short keywords. A clear example would be:
– Buy sports shoes (Short-tail keyword)
– Buy sports shoes in Sydney (long-tail keyword)
So, in order to make your content voice search friendly, you will want to add more long-tail keywords. While doing so, ensure you’re not spamming because Google penalizes those who do.
Loading Speed
Voice search queries came mostly from mobile devices. When people are using a mobile device, they don’t have the time to wait for a few seconds. Google has always mentioned page speed as one of the essential SEO factors. When it comes to mobile voice search SEO, it becomes more important. In order to get the best results, you will want to keep the loading speed low.
How to decrease the page speed on your website?
It is a detailed topic but you can start with the following tips:
– Remove unnecessary codes
– Reduce the redirects
– Use CDN (content distribution network)
– Optimize your page’s images
Conversational Writing
When people perform a voice search, 70% of the requests are in the natural language. This means you need to sound natural too. Keep your writing conversational. Write as if you’re talking and you will be able to connect with your audience more. It is a great way to improve your writing. Find out the vocabulary of your audience. What kind of words do they use? Do they use jargon, slangs or none of them? Write in your audience’s language and you will obviously have better results. It also enhances your site’s user experience.
Conclusion
As Google Home and Amazon Echo become common household items, voice search will begin to dominate the market. Start using voice search yourself and see how different it is from usual searches. You will notice the difference automatically. What do you think of a voice search? Do you have suggestions? Let us know.
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