Best Practices to Use For Voice Search SEO Optimization That Will Improve Your Visibility In the SERPs
Search engine optimization (SEO) used to be much simpler than what it is today. If you kept up with SEO marketing best practices, paid attention to core algorithm updates, and consistently posted content, chances are you would start organically ranking for your targeted search terms.
Around 2011, the search landscape started evolving. Apple integrated Siri into their phones, Google launched their own voice search function soon after, and Amazon Echo, Alexa, and similar virtual assistant products followed suit. Then, smart watches became one of the decade’s must-have accessories, effectively putting a wearable voice assistant on hundreds of millions of wrists worldwide.
Now, when a person wants to find the nearest gas station or search for the best taco Tuesday special in their area, they can perform a traditional text search or a voice search. Naturally, business owners want to know how voice search affects their SEO strategy and the best way to adapt to the ever-changing search landscape.
Let’s explore the voice search revolution, its marketing impacts, and the best way to leverage voice search SEO in your favor.
What Is Voice Search?
Voice search allows users to perform internet searches by speaking into a device rather than manually typing keywords and phrases into a search engine. It uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand the context and intent of audible search queries.
However, because voice search is an alternative approach to searching, this means it has its own set of rules and best practices for optimizations. Business owners who want to ride the wave of the future in search and gain an advantage over their competitors must learn how to leverage voice search SEO in their SEO marketing strategies.
What Is Voice Search SEO and Why Is It Important?
Voice search SEO involves optimizing your website and content to improve its visibility and ranking in voice search results. This requires a different approach compared to traditional SEO, focusing on natural language, local search, and answering specific, often navigational, user queries.
People generally don’t talk the same way they type, which means voice search SEO focuses on how audiences audibly phrase common search terms. For example, a person performing a text search for “allergist in Kansas City” would likely perform a voice search along the lines of, “Hey Siri, is there somewhere close where I can get tested for a peanut allergy?” Voice searches are longer and more conversational, which means business owners should focus on specific long-tail keywords rather than short, broad terms.
Voice searches are also more location oriented. A text search for “BBQ restaurant Overland Park” will be phrased as, “Are there any good BBQ places around here?” Because voice assistants are equipped to handle casually phrased queries, it will perform a location-based search rather than searching the exact phrase. For business owners, this means making good use of services like Yelp and Google Business Profile, as they are more synonymous with voice searches for nearby shops, restaurants, and companies.
So, just how important is optimizing for voice search for your overall SEO strategy?
According to recent statistics, more than a billion voice searches are performed every month, and nearly 60% of consumers report using voice search to locate nearby businesses.
Incorporating voice search into your SEO strategy is important because:
- It’s increasing in popularity: The use of voice search is growing rapidly, with more people relying on virtual assistants and smart devices for quick and convenient information.
- It gives you a competitive edge: Optimizing for voice search can give businesses a competitive advantage by reaching a wider audience and providing a better user experience.
- It enhances user engagement: Voice search optimization can lead to higher engagement rates, as users are more likely to find the information they need.
- It can increase local traffic: Voice search is often used for local queries, such as finding nearby businesses or services. By making voice search SEO optimizations, it can drive more traffic to your physical location.
- It leads to higher conversion rates: Voice search users are often looking for quick and actionable information, leading to higher conversion rates for businesses that can promptly and effectively meet their needs.
6 Best Practices and Tips For Effective Voice Search SEO
Like traditional SEO, optimizing for voice search means following best practices to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. Use these tips to improve your relevance with voice searchers:
- Focus on natural language: Optimize your content to match the conversational tone of voice search queries using complete sentences. Instead of only targeting the keyword “best Italian restaurant,” you should also optimize for the query “What is the best Italian restaurant near me?”
- Target long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are more specific and often reflect the way people speak. Incorporate these keywords naturally into your content. Use phrases like “How to change a flat tire” instead of just “flat tire change.” Due to semantic search, which denotes search meaning, “flat tire change” will still appear in searches for “how to change a flat tire.”
- Optimize for local search: Ensure your business information is accurate and consistent across all online directories and your website. Use local keywords and include your specific location in your content. For example, don’t just say “Houston.” Say “downtown Houston.”
- Improve website speed and mobile friendliness: Ensure your website loads quickly and is optimized for mobile devices, as most voice searches are conducted on smartphones.
- Optimize for featured snippets: Featured snippets are often used in voice search results. Structure your content to answer questions directly and concisely. Use bullet points, lists, and short paragraphs to highlight key information.
- Leverage Google Business Profile: Optimize your Google Business Profile with up-to-date information, including business hours, location, and contact details. Regularly update posts, professionally and politely respond to reviews, and add high-quality photos.
How to Develop a Professional SEO Marketing Strategy
Optimizing for voice search SEO is essential for businesses who want to stay ahead of the digital curve. Now that search is officially a two-sided coin, it’s important to give voice searchers the same level of attention as text searchers.
With the growing popularity of voice-activated searches, adapting your SEO strategy to accommodate natural language queries, local search optimization, and user-focused content can significantly enhance your online visibility and user engagement. Ultimately, this will help broaden your audience, improve the user experience, and drive more conversions and sales.
Of course, to be truly effective, every business needs an SEO strategy that’s specific to their brand, audience, and goals. For a more tailored approach, businesses should contact a trusted digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO. Not only can a marketing agency develop a strategy that’s customized to your business, but they also have access to advanced analytical tools that enable them to extract meaningful insights from large datasets.
Having that kind of information is invaluable, as it allows businesses to make decisions driven by data rather than guesswork. Digital marketing agencies can also use data to forecast trends and consumer behavior, allowing you to stay one step ahead of your competition.
Brandon Tietz is a senior digital copywriter at iFocus Marketing with close to a decade of marketing experience. He has written for clients in retail, real estate, automotive, education, manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods, and several other spaces. In addition to copywriting, he has authored books, published short stories, written for several online and print publications, and was named “Best Local Writer” by The Pitch for his debut novel. He’s currently living the dream in the ‘burbs with his wonderful wife and their two dogs, Dr. Croutons and Professor Pickles.
