A look at the rising popularity of voice search…
Voice search basically enables the users to surf the Internet simply by their voice, instead of having to type their queries word by word in the search bar. The voice search feature is made available to users by digital assistants such as Google Home, Siri, Alexa, and Cortana.
As per the reports published by Google, around 41 percent of adults and 55 percent of teens use voice search on a daily basis. This highlights two major points that you should consider:
- Voice search has become incredibly popular as a tool for searching the web.
- The younger generation is significantly drawn towards this medium of search.
Moreover, it is estimated that somewhere around 30 percent of all searches across the globe will be done without turning to the screen by the year 2020. Simply putting it, many of your customers have already completely switched to voice search. In such a scenario, what remains for you to do is optimizing your website and its content accordingly.
You must be wondering why so many people are using voice search…
One simple answer to this is multitasking. The report published by Google reveals that 38 percent of people use voice search at the time of watching TV and around 23 percent do so while cooking. The remaining switch to voice search while driving or walking.
This is the primary reason for the increase in popularity of digital assistants such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Home. It has been predicted by the digital marketing experts, that the number of digital assistants that stood at 2.5 billion in 2018 will rise to 8 billion by the year 2023.
Besides this, approximately 60 percent of all smartphone users will use voice search for most of their queries.
Addressing your primary concern: How speech impacts SEO?
The boost in speech queries has enormous significance for SEO. For one, the way we search on the web through voice is completely different from written searches. Voice searches usually denote lengthier search queries. Needless to say, it is also considerably quicker than typing.
For instance, you might simply write ‘best handbags for women’ in Google, whereas you will most certainly ask ‘What are the best brands of handbags for women?’ when speaking. You might even consider asking, ‘What are the best brands of handbags for women in India?’
What we basically want to highlight here is that it is normal for people to present their query in the form of a question when speaking, compared to opting for short phrases when typing.
What should you do for effective Voice Search Optimization?
You must be finding it hard to comprehend exactly how you should optimize a website to serve the rising demand for voice search compatibility while still continuing to surpass rivals for written keywords. Fortunately, some of the best manners in which you can boost your Google ranking for speech also work perfectly for written optimization.
No matter if you choose to hire an SEO company or do the optimization on your own, you must certainly account for SEO relating to spoken queries in your larger scheme of things. Here are some of our guidelines which can offer you the much-needed direction…
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Make use of conversational language.
Be it for optimization relating to written or speech queries, your best shot at making sure that your content ranks well on Google is to make use of informal and interactive language.
The best keywords to use are the most common ones and not the fanciest ones when searching for a topic. For instance, you will do good to optimize your website for “best property dealer” in place of using a keyword like “elite property dealer” mainly because it is a substantially higher volume keyword.
As pointed out above, the major distinction between voice and written search is that of lengthy keywords used for the former. Written search queries are normally short, like “best shampoo”, voice search queries are mostly long, such as “best shampoo for dry and damaged hair.”
Besides ranking higher in Google for voice searches, long keywords also appear more appropriate to the readers. Those who visit your site via written searches will have a better reaction towards the text that is written in conversation language instead of the one that appears as if it’s been written by the robot.
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Focus on making the answers short and precise.
Another impressive way in which you can appeal to voice search queries is by offering short and precise answers to the questions that are commonly asked. Usually, these should not be longer than 2-3 sentences; however, this can change sometimes if needed.
Although Google normally extracts speech queries from lengthy texts, it is still easier to provide an answer in FAQ or an excerpt. As simple as you make it for the users to access an answer, more will be the chances of Google ranking your website at the number one spot.
What you need to keep in your mind is that voice queries will provide you with the first answer itself as against a whole list of search results when written queries are made in Google. This is why it is particularly important to make sure that your content ranks first in Google search.
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Come up with a good quality of long-form content.
No doubt, snippets are crucial to appeal to search queries; however, it does not imply that your content should not be longer than a few sentences. As of now, the Google algorithm rewards the long-form and detailed contents even where voice search is concerned.
Furthermore, contents with high domain authority (DA) are definitely ranked higher. DA is also ascertained by the other websites that link to yours. However, you must not take this as a sign that you can implement techniques such as buying links over here.
Stay true and create good quality, long-form content to build the link profile of your website. Over time, you will notice that other websites will begin linking to yours naturally.
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Implement local SEO.
One of the most popular trends in voice searches is finding local businesses. This generally comprises the use of phrases like “local” or “near me”.
Due to this, every business, small and large, needs to share its important information like phone number and address across different locations. You must make sure you post updated information across every platform. Google will adjoin these findings to respond to a voice search.
Another important aspect in respect of local SEO is the use of schema markup. Simply putting it, this is a code that is added onto a website to make it appear more comprehensible to the search engines. For instance, it can positively impact business hours and geographic accuracy. You must also pay attention to the Rich Snippets, URL and Meta description for improving the SEO of your site.
Conclusion
Voice search has arrived and if you have not been living under a rock, you must already be aware of its potential. The good thing is that you can easily optimize your website for written as well as spoken queries all at the same time. Both of these SEOs require you to have a good understanding of the prevailing SEO marketing trends relating to content length, keywords, and the breaking up of content in such a manner that it is intelligible to users and crawlable for search engines. Make all of the aforementioned elements a part of your SEO strategy to boost the ranking of your site across all types of search sources.