“Siri, which is the best digital marketing company near me?”
“Hey Google, what restaurants offer Thai food in London?”
Have you ever thought of asking any such questions to your voice assistant? Getting information or answers to such conversational search questions is much more realistic than you may think. If your target audience could find you while asking such questions via voice search, it would be highly beneficial for your business.
That’s the reason why you must take advantage of voice search optimization.
What Is Voice Search Optimization?
In case you have not tried it yet, voice search happens when a computer or smartphone user speaks to their device to search for a specific company or topic.
For instance, if you are heading home and looking for a coffee shop, your attention gets away from the road while unlocking a smartphone screen and typing “coffee shop near me” on the phone. Instead, open a voice search and say “which is the nearest coffee shop?”
When you use voice search, you are most likely to use a conversational tone than a very short phrase in the way you generally type on a text search. In the conversational search, there are more chances of getting the most accurate search results.
Why optimize for voice search?
Here are some important reasons why voice search optimization is very popular among modern-day consumers:
- It is a hands-free technology that does not need any maintenance or physical contact with the device.
- It makes it easier to multitask with voice searches. You can easily direct your voice assistant to search for anything. And, then you may carry on with anything you require to do while the voice assistant does the job for you.
- Voice search is an efficient and quick way to attain satisfactory results for your queries and questions.
5 ways to optimize for voice search
Here are some effective ways to optimize voice search.
1. Content needs to be presented in a very conversational tone
You need to use everyday language for voice search. It is best to use simple words when going for ‘voice search.’ It is because the search engines work in terms of commonality and volume - not complexity. They concentrate more on current location, common data, commonly-used verbiage, and demographics for identifying and tracing the context of the searcher’s question(s). That’s why you need to use the most natural and ‘normal’ form of language to get the most accurate results.
2. Make use of long-tail keywords
Unlike the typed queries, the voice searches are usually more specific and longer. It means that the content needs to have more long-tail keywords compared to traditionally-used short phrases.
For instance, if you are selling soap, it would be best to advertise for “organic or handmade goat milk soap” than simply just offering “handmade soap”. With long-tail keywords, the business will stand out in voice searches.
3. Use interrogatory statements in your content
When you ask questions, begin by using words like “why,” “who,” “where,” “what,” and “how.” all these interrogatory words present the most common questions that people ask conversationally.
That’s why many websites are including FAQs page on their websites. It not just makes your website easily visible on search engine result pages, but also helps you pay attention to questions your target customers often ask in voice searches. Once you have this data in hand, you are most likely to cut down unnecessary content and include only what’s needed.
4. Keep updating your Google My Business listing
Google’s My Business Listings offer a snapshot of some relevant information about your business. This information is visible to anyone searching for specific content. It also includes your business’ operation hours, location, and contact information.
Plus, the customers are more likely to get the most accurate “near me” searches. So, it’s important to put your correct address and contact information on a website. After all, it helps customers to find your business online.
5. Mobile-friendly websites for improved customer experience
Voice searches are majorly done on mobile phones. So, it does without saying that your website needs to be working well on smartphones as it does on a desktop. The best way to do so is by considering what your website content will appear like in each format.
Since most voice searches are location-based, it makes it easier for smartphone users to easily access and navigate a mobile responsive website as per its location.
Summary
Voice Search Optimization is a very new technology that will grow to become highly prevalent with time. If you expect your business to grow, you must not ignore this technology. After all, it is closely linked to SEO practices that get you more online customers while being more visible online.