There was a time when voice search was just a small concept. Today, it has become one significant topic in the search industry because users just can’t get enough of it! are your hands full and you want to look for companies offering BPO services, just give a voice command and the voice assistant will do the work for you!
With 66.3 million US households expected to own smart speakers in 2022, voice search is going to get bigger. If your content is not optimized for it, you are missing out on a huge chunk of the audience.
Let’s walk you through some tips to optimize your content as well as a website for voice search and increase the flow of traffic:
1: Optimize Your Content with Conversational Keywords
It’s a brainer that short and irrelevant keywords are the enemy of a sound SEO strategy. Normally mid-tail and long-tail keywords work but for voice search, you will have to go one step further. Here, full phrases and questions do the job just right. These are the type of questions you ask when you are having a conversation with someone. For instance, when is the next solar eclipse?
If necessary, use a keyword research tool to search for conversational phrases. They often begin with who, what, why, where, how, and when. You can also manually search for questions your target audience often asks in forums and websites. Google’s autocompleting tool along with the “People Also Ask” can help take your voice research to another level.
2: Create an FAQ Section
The FAQ section on your website is not just great for SEO, but it also helps with voice search. It is these questions and answers that are the drivers of conversational language. The answers to these questions should be detailed but to the point. When it comes to voice search, users want short and quick answers.
3: Make Your Website Mobile Friendly
It’s a brainer that for voice search, users give the voice command through their phone. So, the next question is, are you sure your website is optimized for voice search? If not, then the user will move away from your website and stay on the one that actually answers their question well.
When optimizing your website for voice search, here are some essentials to consider for making your website mobile-friendly:
- Create a responsive web design
- Don’t use intrusive interstitials
- Work on the page load time
- Focus on the readability
You may also online tools to access the mobile-friendliness of your website.
4: Install Featured Snippet for Your Website
Voice search doesn’t just pick the top search results, but it also targets Position 0. It’s not enough to be number one in the organic search. The only way to survive is to aim higher and featured snippets can help you achieve that.
Did you know 40.7 percent of voice search results are excerpts through featured snippets? The best part is if you have an FAQ page already, then consider half of your work done. Featured snippets are the excerpts of text that appear on top of the search result page and this position is called Position 0.
5: Use Schema
Web crawlers such as schema markup can help to know what your page is about and the questions it answers. By implementing Schema, you are basically telling search engines where exactly does your website fit. It is a way to confirm that your website is a good match for the particular user’s search.
Once you have scheme markup installed, you are helping web crawlers place your website in the right category and hence optimize it for SEO. This makes it easier to find information. As a result, when people use voice search through their phones, they are able to get to your site faster.
You can use tools such as Structured Data Markup Helper by Google. Enter the URL of your website, follow the prompts and you can pick what data you want to display on your website’s search listing.
6: Consider Speech Patterns and Idioms When Writing Content
As you optimize your content for voice search, don’t forget the speech patterns. Yes, search engine optimization is important but as you create content considering speech patterns in mind, don’t forget to include idioms, which often vary by industry, culture, and country, of course.
Summing Up
Unfortunately, compared to SEO itself, voice search is still comparatively underutilized. By optimizing your content for voice search and combining the mentioned voice search strategies with traditional SEO, you can readily prepare your website for voice.
As you optimize your content and website for voice, consider how you now use voice search in your daily life. Consider the needs of the customer, put yourself in their position, and see how you might meet those needs.
