“How do I optmize our content for voice search?” is a question we are beginning to receive more and more from our clients.
Why optimize content for voice search?
Last week, I explained why now is the time for voice-activated content. To recap, here are three statistics that explain this shift and why we are going hard into voice-optimized content for our clients:
50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020
50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. Click To Tweet
72% of people who own smart speakers say the devices are part of their daily routines
72% of people who own smart speakers say the devices are part of their daily routines Click To Tweet
In the past year, smart speaker users who own two or more devices moved from 38% to 52%
In the past year, smart speaker users who own two or more devices moved from 38% to 52% Click To Tweet
Voice is the future of web search. If you’re ready get your hands dirty and begin optimizing your content for voice search, use these 4 quick tips to get started.
1. Focus on Phrases and Longtail Keywords
The search focus has shifted from terse, awkward keywords to long-tail phrases, or even entire sentences. That’s because voice searches make use of natural language. The way we talk is decidedly different than the way we type. The phrases and keywords that we use while speaking to digital assistants would therefore be different than those we use when entering text in Google search.
“What is the weather like in Miami today?” is an example of a conversational/natural language query more likely to be spoken to a digital assistant, as opposed to “weather miami,” which we would type into a search bar. Content optimized for voice SEO would therefore need to focus on this very important aspect of the nature of voice search.
2. Anticipate Specific Questions Asked in a Conversational Manner
Voice search might use entire sentences, but it’s also specific in nature. People do not ramble on when speaking to a digital assistant, possibly because a more specific question leads to a more accurate answer.
A query such as, “Find an Italian restaurant near me,” with the user’s location enabled can return precise results for users. Business owners would therefore want to optimize their websites and content for intuitive but specific queries. This can be accomplished via a detailed FAQ page or a blog containing authority content created around longtail keywords and conversational but specific questions. This would require you to research the kind of questions your target audience most frequently poses to digital assistants and produce content around those queries. It’s a good idea to take each of those questions and flesh out the answers in the form of quality blog posts.
As long as your content answers customer queries in the best and most useful manner possible, expect Google to take notice of it and rank the website/mobile site accordingly.
3. Optimize Your Website for Local SEO
The Meeker’s Internet Trends Report found that voice search is 3X times more likely to be local in nature. With this in mind, businesses should keep their profiles and contact information up to date, since this is what Google will pull for queries such as, “Where can I get the best coffee in Seattle?”
Voice search is 3X times more likely to be local in nature. Click To Tweet
For a coffee shop owner, this would mean including accurate opening hours in their profile, including the precise location of the shop, and optimizing the content on the website to be found via keywords such as “best coffee” or something more specific, such as “best spiced chai latte.”
Find out the kind of questions your target audience is most likely to pose to a digital voice assistant, and create content that provides specific answers to these queries.
4. Make Sure Your Website Is Ready for Voice Search
According to Google, micro moments (moments during which users need immediate, relevant, and ready-to-use information) are key to capitalizing on any kind of search, especially voice search. Since our smartphones are our constant companions, it is natural that with internet at our fingertips, they are going to be our first source of information. Google has therefore been encouraging businesses to be cognizant of the increasing use of mobile in internet search and accordingly optimize their sites for mobile.
We now have mobile and voice search to pay attention to. Businesses that take advantage of these micro moments stand a good chance of racing ahead of the competition:
- Anticipate at which stage(s) a user is most likely to need the services your business provides.
- Anticipate the nature of information they need to make a decision.
- Provide users with the relevant information at that stage in order to help them make a decision, or leave them with clear further guidance.
For this to happen, businesses must ensure their websites are optimized for mobile, for local SEO, and for voice search. In order for a mobile site to be of use to someone during a micro moment, it needs to load quickly, be user-friendly, contain relevant information (local SEO), and produce the right answers in response to a voice search query. Taken together, this maximizes the chances of a user choosing your service.
Making the Leap to Voice Search
The nature of search and the evolution in search algorithms, based on changing technology and shifting consumer habits, require marketers to move in tandem with newer trends. That is the way to stay relevant and competitive.
Do you have any plans for incorporating voice search in your content marketing strategy? Contact us today. We’d love to hear about your plans, and walk you through how to create your own voice-activated content strategy.
This post was originally written by Michael Georgiou in 2016 and updated by Jay Baer in 2019.