In a highly digital world that we live in today, both virtual assistants and mobile devices have played a key role in our day-to-day lives.
With the ability to provide commands like creating tasks, getting in touch with contacts, and browsing the internet even while on the go, more and more users have relied on voice assistants.
Voice search allows one to multitask, get things done quicker, and instantly get search results.
In this post, we will talk about the seven clever strategies on how to get amazing results through voice search SEO:
Do keyword research
When it comes to queries, you must take into consideration semantic differences. It’s because most people speak and type differently from others.
Let’s say that someone is using voice search features on their phone and wants to purchase a home voice assistant.
Using their keyboards, they might look up “home voice assistants,” but via voice search, they will say, “what’s the best home voice assistant?”
So, you need to think about the questions people might ask related to your target keywords.
Target long-tail keywords
Most voice searches are more long-tail since it is a conversational query.
Apart from that, we are all aware that Google loves long-form content. While you can’t create content for every voice search term, it is still possible that you include all of these terms into a full-fledged post.
Most content creators could utilize this by creating long-form content, and using long-tail keywords which will show up on voice search queries.
Focus on your local SEO
Do you know that 39% of users that are using voice search are searching for business information? That’s why it is important, more than ever, to practice local SEO.
Ensure that you have a Google Business Page and that it is up to date, has the right contact address and details, and its opening hours are listed as well.
For example, you run a local coffee shop. If you have an optimized Google Business Page, your page can appear on the stop in case a user is looking for the nearest local coffee shop in their area.
Also, if the users are looking for your local cafe’s operating hours, you have to ensure that you’re providing accurate information. It’s because they might end up misinformed, causing you to lose out a possible sale.
Familiarize featured snippets
Both Google Assistant and Google Home have featured snippets that help answer voice search queries.
Here are some tips that work well with these guidelines and worth taking into consideration when creating your content:
- Answer particular questions: Find the common questions that your target audience asks, and then use that as a basis to create your copy.
- Answer questions as concisely as possible: The thing is, Google wants to show the best answer, so make yours as clear and easily digestible as possible.
- Come up with an engaging copy: Ideally, your content must be engaging, the meta-data should be optimized, and you should have a strong internal and external link building strategy.
Identify user intent
This is crucial because Google will look for the intent of a particular person’s queries. When you understand why a user is asking a particular question, then it’s easier to create relevant and high-quality content.
Eventually, Google will recognize you as a person of authority in your niche, causing a massive boost in your rankings.
Maybe your keyword phrases aren’t spot on, but if you create content that is both valuable and timely, the better it will be for your site.
So, how does this concept relate to voice search?
Well, when you get to understand conversational voice searches, you’ll get to know the people who are making those searches, as well as their intent.
Improve website speed
Speed is another essential factor in voice search, but sadly, this often goes unnoticed.
Websites that take a long time to load are often abandoned by a lot of users compared to those that load relatively quickly. Website speed has also a direct impact on the bounce rates of your site and needs to be optimized at all costs.
Apart from that, Google has also released its speed update, which emphasizes the need to boost the load times of websites.
In voice search, the rules are quite the same. Such queries will warrant immediate results. And if you have a slow-loading site, the chances are slim that your content will be used to answer verbal queries.
Don’t neglect mobile
Apart from speed, Google also emphasizes an enhanced mobile experience on its platform and is focused to make it better each day.
When it comes to queries on voice search, mobile surely beats other devices. That’s because most of these verbal questions are rather done on mobile. Hence, you should be keen on delivering a fantastic mobile experience for customers.
You need to come up with content that’s mobile-friendly, and here’s how you can do it:
- Create a mobile-responsive site.
- Do a mobile-friendly test on your website, and then optimize it accordingly.
- Make your website crawlable so that you can gain exposure and visibility with your content.
Mobile is indeed the future of search, and that includes local search queries. Having a mobile-friendly site is one of the most important SEO practices that you couldn’t afford to ignore.
Over to You
There you have it. The steps that we have listed above will help you step up your marketing game and navigate in the era of voice search.
There’s no doubt that more and more people are using it, and it is expected to grow to 50% this year.
So, if you are already integrating voice search into your existing SEO strategy, you’ll see a significant boost in the visibility of your content as voice search results will narrow the top pages.
The future of voice search is clear. Applying the strategies that we have listed in this article will help you prepare, as you rise above your competitors.
About the Author – Kevin Urrutia is the founder of Voy Media Advertising Agency NYC. He aids businesses in effectively improving sales and conversion through the effective utilization of Facebook advertising. Voy Media is an expert in determining the best approach, coming up with a unique solution for each client.
