SEO
September 4, 2024
Today more than 58% of businesses use voice search to find local businesses. This is a huge number considering around 15 Million searches done with local voice queries in the US alone.
If you are a legitimate business, voice search for SEO is a must today. How people find businesses & services is changing rapidly, and voice search is a big part of this change.
More and more people are using voice helpers like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa to find services online. These devices give consumers a new experience that is much more user-friendly.
To keep up, businesses need to change how they appear online. This means updating your Google My Business (GMB) or Apple Maps profile, and your website. You want to make sure people can find your business easily when they ask their phone or smart speaker for help.
This read will cover some optimizations that you can do easily that will help you show up when people ask for their devices for businesses like yours.
But first, let’s understand some fundamentals of voice search.
While the process of voice searches tend to be quite technical, having a basic idea of how it works can help in your optimization efforts. Let’s break it down in simple terms:
Voice searches are quite different from the usual text searches we type on our phones or desktops. Compared to text searches, voice searches are generally longer and more specific.
They also use natural language, which means people speak in a way that’s more like having a conversation, rather than using short, choppy phrases.
To understand this better, let’s compare how someone might search for a coffee shop using text versus voice. A typical text search might be “best coffee shop near me“.
On the other hand, a voice search could sound like “What’s the best coffee shop near me that is 10 minutes away from my current location?”
Voice search asks a full question and includes specific information about distance and location. This difference is important for local businesses to understand.
When you’re trying to show up in voice search, you need to think about the kinds of questions people might ask out loud about your business or service.
Now that we understand how voice search works and how it’s different from traditional search, let’s look at some ways to make your business more visible in voice search results.
These tips are easy to follow and can make a big difference in how often your business shows up when people use voice search.
Keywords are the starting point of any search optimization process, and voice search is no different. But when you’re looking for keywords for voice search, you need to think a bit differently.
Start by thinking about phrases or questions you might say to a friend sitting next to you when talking about your business. Or try using voice search on your mobile device to see what kinds of phrases come naturally. The conversational keywords would be used in the overall conversation that may take place.
For example, if you have a plumbing business, people might search by saying something like “How much do plumbers charge to install a toilet seat?”
This is what we call a natural language keyword, it’s how people talk, not just a few words strung together.
Google can be your best friend in finding these kinds of long tail keywords or conversational keywords. It can show you what questions people are asking about businesses like yours.
Remember, in voice search, people are more likely to ask full questions rather than just saying a few words.
To give you a head start, you can use Serpple’s Keyword Insight tool.
Start with typing your head keyword, select the country for which you want the tool to give you search results and then type in the search.
The tool will give you a list of matching keywords and long tail keywords that you can use.
You can add them to your list, and make a keyword list too, for your campaign.
Now, you may ask what to do with these keywords. Well, you have to sprinkle it smartly in your on-page SEO.
Read More: Role of Long Tail Keywords in Voice Search Optimization
Now that you have your keywords and all the related data, it’s time to start building content that answers commonly asked questions about your business. The key is to naturally embed these keywords into your content & answer those voice search query.
But be careful not to overdo it, if you use too many keywords, your content might sound strange to visitors who are reading it.
Try to insert those long-tail keywords into your answers, and aim to keep your answers short and sweet something around 25 words if possible. This is because voice assistants usually prefer brief, to-the-point answers.
Here’s an interesting fact: according to a study by seoClarity, nearly 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by a set of 25 keywords.
These keywords often include words like “how”, “what”, “best”, “where”, and “who”. So, when you’re creating content, try to use these question words in your headings and answers.
For example, if you run a pizza shop, you might create content that answers questions like “How long does it take to deliver a pizza?” or “What’s the best pizza in [your city]?”
This type of content is perfect for voice search because it directly answers questions people are likely to ask.
The goal here is to make your content sound natural and helpful, just like you’re answering a friend’s question. This approach will not only help with voice search but will also make your content more useful for all your customers.
Long-form content is a great way to optimize for voice search. With longer articles or pages, you can create an in-depth knowledge house about your business or industry. This gives you plenty of room to answer many different questions that people might ask using voice search.
You’ll find lots of opportunities to include the types of questions and answers that voice assistants love. You can cover a wide range of topics related to your business, all in one place. This makes your website more likely to show up in voice search results for various queries.
Here’s something interesting: about 40.7% of voice search results come from featured snippets. Long-form content gives you a better chance of earning these featured snippets, which can boost your visibility in voice search.
Another useful tool for voice search optimization is the proper use of schema markup. This is a kind of code you can add to your website to help search engines understand what your content is about.
For example, if you run a restaurant, you might use schema markup to clearly show your opening hours, menu items, and customer ratings. When you use schema, it’s easier for voice assistants to find and share this information when someone asks about your business.
If you’re running a local business, it’s crucial to focus on activities that attract local consumers & optimize for local SEO. One of the most important steps is optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile to get featured for local voice search queries. This free tool can significantly boost your visibility in local voice searches.
Start by ensuring your business name, address, and phone number are correct on your GMB profile. This is known as NAP (Name, Address, Phone) optimization, and it’s essential for local search results. Make sure this information is consistent across all your online platforms.
When setting up your GMB profile, choose the correct primary category for your business. If it makes sense, you can also add a secondary category. This helps Google understand exactly what your business does, making it easier to show up in relevant voice searches.
Add relevant pictures of your business and services to your profile. You can even ask your customers to make review videos of your products or services. This visual content can make your profile more engaging and informative.
Don’t be shy about showcasing your office or store. This helps build transparency and trust with your customers. People like to see where they might be going or who they might be dealing with.
When writing your business description, naturally include local keywords like you did with the website content. Be sure to mention your business hours and the areas you serve accurately. Having local keywords in your profile makes your profile pop for local searches more.
I have collectively created a different blog on optimizing Google My Business profile, you can read it over there to understand more about this platform.
If you’re running a business, it’s always a good idea to create an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page for your users. This page can provide quick solutions to common questions, saving time for both you and your customers.
By now, you’ve understood that many voice searches come in the form of questions. With an FAQ page on your website, you can directly answer these common questions, making your site more likely to appear in voice search results.
But how do you collect these questions?
If you’re an established business, you probably already know the common problems your users face.
However, if you’re just starting, it’s important to talk to your customers and record every question they have. Over time, you’ll get a good understanding of which questions are asked repeatedly. These are the ones you should add to your FAQ page.
You might be tempted to look at the “People Also Ask” section in Google and add those questions to your FAQ page. While this can be helpful, it’s more important to have your own set of questions that are specifically related to your product or service. Your customers’ actual questions will be more relevant and valuable for your FAQ page.
Also, you should regularly update your FAQ page as new questions come up. This keeps your content fresh and ensures you’re always providing the most up-to-date information to your customers.
More than a quarter of the world’s population now uses voice search on their mobile devices. This means that if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, your customer experience could suffer greatly & you may lose search engine visibility.
Google has introduced the concept of Mobile-First Indexing, which means they’re now prioritizing mobile versions of websites over desktop ones. This shift has big implications for your website’s visibility in search results.
With this change, it doesn’t matter how high-quality your desktop version is. If your website isn’t well-designed for mobile devices, it stands little chance of ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is especially important for voice search, as most voice searches are performed on mobile devices.
A mobile-friendly website ensures that your content is easy to read and navigate on smaller screens. It should load quickly and be easy to interact with using touch controls. All of these factors contribute to a better user experience, which is crucial for both voice search optimization and overall search engine rankings.
Fortunately, you don’t have to guess whether your site is mobile-friendly or not. Google provides a free tool that you can use to test your site’s mobile-friendliness. You can find this tool provided by Google.
There are many ways to improve your site’s mobile performance, from using responsive design to optimizing images and streamlining your content. Making these improvements will not only help with voice search optimization but will also provide a better experience for all your mobile users.
The factors we’ve discussed so far are crucial for voice SEO, but if you want to stand out, there are a couple more things you can do to improve your voice search performance.
The easier it is for Google to crawl your website, the better rewards you’ll get. Making things simple for search engines can help you achieve good SERP rankings.
Here’s how you can keep your website architecture clean:
Make sure your website is technically sound and clean. One important aspect is the depth of your website. Aim to have a maximum depth of 3 clicks, meaning any URL on your domain can be reached within 3 clicks from any other page. This makes it easier for search engines as well as users to find all your content.
Try to avoid 301 redirections as much as possible. While sometimes necessary, having too many redirects can slow down your site and make it harder for search engines to crawl. Keep redirects to a minimum on your site.
Avoid 301 redirection chain issues, there are instances that these go undetected.
A clean website architecture not only helps search engines understand and index your site better but also improves the user experience. When users (and voice assistants) can easily find what they’re looking for, they’re more likely to stay on your site and engage with your content.
We’ve talked about Natural Language Processing (NLP) and how to use it effectively for voice search. Focus on writing content that’s easy for human readers to understand. This is crucial not just for voice search, but for your overall user experience.
The more engaged users are with your content, the lower your website’s bounce rate will be. When visitors stay longer on your site, it sends a positive signal to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant.
Using easy language helps users understand your content quickly – within the blink of an eye.
Here’s how you can make your content more readable:
Avoid using jargon or uncommon words. While you might be tempted to show off your expertise with industry-specific terms, this can often confuse or alienate your readers. Instead, use simple, everyday language that anyone can understand.
Break down complex ideas into simpler terms. If you need to explain a difficult concept, do it step by step, using analogies or examples that your average reader can relate to?
Use short sentences and paragraphs i.e. they should look like natural speech patterns. This makes your content easier to scan and digest, especially on mobile devices where most voice searches happen.
Writing in a simple, clear style, you’re not just optimizing for voice search – you’re creating a better experience for all your users. This can lead to more engaged visitors, lower bounce rates, and ultimately, better search engine rankings.
Video has become a big part of Google’s strategy for answering voice queries. Today, videos tend to show up more frequently for natural language keywords, making them an important component of your voice SEO strategy.
Youtube is the biggest search engine after Google, and getting on it should be your priority.
Let’s understand this with an example. If you search for “how to vlookup in Excel,” Google recognizes that you want to understand the VLOOKUP concept in Excel.
In response, it’s likely to show you a mix of search results, including several videos near the top of the page. Notice how this search uses natural language – it’s a specific query that closely mimics how someone might ask a question using voice search.
This trend highlights the importance of optimizing your videos as part of your SEO strategy. Here’s how you can do it:
Voice search helps user to get users going their search even without touching their devices. Voice search users are going to increase with smart speakers and devices getting more intelligent.
You now have the foundational guidelines to optimize your website and other web properties for voice search.
As you’ve seen, voice search optimization isn’t entirely different from what you’re already doing in your SEO strategy. Instead, it’s an additional layer to ensure your business gets found in voice searches.
Remember, voice search optimization builds upon traditional digital marketing strategy.
It’s about adapting your existing strategies to accommodate the growing usage of digital assistants and voice-activated devices. Focus on natural language, question-based queries, and providing clear, concise answers, you’re not only optimizing for voice search but also improving your overall user experience.
As voice search continues to grow, it’s becoming an increasingly important channel for brand discovery and engagement. By adapting to this trend, you’re positioning your brand to be easily accessible to users, regardless of how they choose to search.
If your brand hasn’t yet adopted a voice search strategy, now is the time to do it. The trend towards voice search is only going to grow, and getting ahead of the curve can give you a significant advantage over your competitors.
