Mobile devices and virtual assistants have become a big part of our day-to-day in a world driven by connectivity and convenience. But, how do you boost your website for voice search?
With the ability to give commands like creating tasks, messaging contacts, or searching the web without opening your smartphone, smart speaker, or even operating system, users have grown accustomed to—and reliant on—voice assistants in ways they never imagined.
This new technology allows people to multitask, get things done faster, and instantly get search results.
Voice search has made people’s lives easier by solving simple equations, showing weather forecasts, and setting up alarms and reminders.
As more and more people gain access to mobile devices. As they become more comfortable with virtual assistants thanks to innovations that improve the user experience, it’s no wonder that voice search has grown strong in the last couple of years.
So, what is voice search?
Voice search is a speech recognition technology that allows users to enter queries by speaking into their devices. Rather than typing your requests down, all you need to do is talk. The device you use then retrieves information performs an internet search, and returns with answers in the form of a website recommendation or an audio response.
With the rise of intelligent virtual assistants, queries are now easily performed in a way that is quick and accessible for most.
According to ComScore, by 2020, 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches.
This dramatic increase implies that the growth of voice search in our modern world is inevitable.
Recently, tech companies have utilized voice search technology to create and develop apps to enhance user experiences.
Here are some of the best voice assistants that you should try out:
Google Assistant
Say “Hey, Google” to your device. This virtual assistant will execute commands such as setting up reminders, calling and texting people from your contacts list, and, most importantly, conducting accurate voice search inquiries.
According to the Digital Assistants Accuracy Study Perficient Digital in 2018, Google Assistant holds the highest among its competitors.
This is because it uses Google’s search index—which means it has the algorithm to give the best results. Google Assistant is built-in for all Google devices such as Androids but can also be downloaded via the App Store for Apple devices.
Amazon Alexa
Developed by Amazon, according to SmartHomeFocus, Alexa is one of the best options for automating your smart home. With Alexa being compatible with almost all smart home devices, it can do almost everything when asked commands or even do a little online shopping through Amazon.
However, if you’re someone who prefers simply talking to activate your virtual assistant, Alexa might not be the one for you. Alexa’s limitation is that there’s no pre-installed application for smartphones. You still need to go and download the app, whereas Google Assistant or Siri are already built-in and ready-to-use (depending on your device).
Apple Siri
With the abundance of Apple users worldwide and Siri being its built-in voice assistant, it’s easy to understand why Siri is perhaps the most popular virtual assistant on the market.
Siri’s multilingual capabilities, which are compatible with 21 languages, might also be a factor in the ease of adoption.
However, one downside of Siri is that this voice assistant is only usable by Apple users, while Google Assistant can be used on iOS and Android devices.
SEO and Voice Search — Why You Need It
The goal of search engine optimization (SEO) aims to ensure that your website comes up as a top result on the search page. This means it can bring more traffic to your website because it becomes easier for more people to find you.
With voice search on the rise, optimizing your website to account for voice search can help increase awareness of your business and draw in targeted users to your products and services.
Voice search and its impact on SEO rankings
The influence of voice search can be tracked by looking at how people interact with their devices and how the shift in these habits impacts anything from purchasing decisions to finding and approaching new brands. We need to rethink the nature of marketing and, most significantly, SEO.
If you want to keep your sites visible to users and even get ahead of the game, you need to consider changing your SEO strategies to account for these shifts in behavior.
While it might not be easy to envision what your target audience will do with this technology in the future, it helps to look at which platforms they’re using now.
To give you a better picture of what steps you can take, here are some methods you can explore to optimize your website for voice search:
Boost your page speed.
Page speed refers to how much time your site takes to load. Google’s algorithm considers site speed as one of the signals to rank pages higher in search results. Google voice search tends to favor websites that load quickly because users in a hurry typically opt for voice search and also expect results to show immediately.
We recommend that you check your page load time with Google’s PageSpeed Insights and try some of the tips they provide to optimize your site better.
Likewise, it’s essential to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.
BrightLocal cites that 56% of all voice search queries are conducted via mobile devices.
Write your keywords the way you would search for them.
Unlike traditional searches on desktop or mobile, users tend to behave as if they are talking to another person when using voice assistants. They ask questions and use long phrases that sound much more natural rather than short, concise keywords.
Instead of using “best coffee shops in Manila,” people tend to ask in a much more conventional way: “Which are the best coffee shops in Manila?”
Focus more on long-tail keywords while also keeping your phrases short and simple. It’s also good to research the different questions your target audiences may ask and then answer the more common questions on your website or blog.
Use tools like Answer the Public to filter the most common questions asked and tailor your content with these in mind.
Improve your local search results.
According to BrightLocal, 97% of consumers using voice search look for online reviews of local businesses.
Ensure your site is optimized thoroughly for local search and consider investing in local-related content like your local listings for your voice search ranking.
Try using geotagged keywords or optimizing your Google My Business listing by providing updated and accurate business contact information such as an address, phone numbers, and operating hours.
Optimize your content for featured snippets.
The featured snippet is a box that displays selected search results on top of Google’s organic results—you can find them right below the ads. These snippets are placed there to answer user queries right away.
So what can you do so you’re “featured”? Master the following strategies and get your content up to #0.
Alternatively, creating how-tos, guides, and FAQs can help your site appear in voice search results.
Provide quality content that addresses common question-based queries and maintains your featured position by keeping your content regularly updated and fresh.
Let’s face the future. Should you optimize your Voice Search SEO?
Voice search is still mostly in development, so it’s hard to definitively conclude which strategies work best and if voice search will dominate the market of search queries. At this point, we know that voice assistants are growing in popularity on a whole different level, making it easier for people to retrieve information, make purchases, and browse the web.
The steps listed above are meant to prepare you to better keep up with the marketing game and navigate this new era of voice search.
Want to get ahead of the competition and keep your search ranking strong?
We can help you optimize for voice search. Check out our SEO service packages below.
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