Of all the types of online search that exist today, none better matches the growing advancement of mobile experiences such as voice search. In the US, for example, about a third of the population uses voice search capabilities, which corresponds to at least 40% of all internet users in the country according to Emarketer data.
Knowing that this is a trend that is already considered global, in today’s content we will talk more deeply about voice search. More specifically, we’ll talk about how to optimize your site for this type of search, permanently including your ranking factors in your SEO strategy.
What Is Voice Search?
Voice search is a type of search in search engines in which the user, instead of typing keywords related to the information they want to find, activates a voice recognition feature performing their search through speech.
Currently, in addition to Google’s own traditional search engine, other virtual assistants allow users to use their voices to search the internet and perform physical and virtual actions, such as playing music or closing a curtain. Among the most popular on the market today are Google Assistant, from Google; Alexa, from Amazon; Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri as a pioneer.
How Does Voice Search Work?
When we type a topic of interest into a search engine, whether on a computer or a mobile device, we almost always do short-tail searches. This is because, in general, we understand how the algorithm works and, despite constant improvements in understanding complex questions, we know that few words are enough to achieve certain results.
When doing a voice search, we instinctively tend towards the long tail, since, humanly, the act of speaking is closely related to communicating with another person, requiring conversational sentence construction – or more akin to the way we speak. These surveys are mostly done in the form of questions beginning with the interrogative words how, when, where, what and why.
Who Does Voice Searches?
According to data from Salesforce in a study on the generational difference in the use of voice assistants in the United States, millennials are more likely to use the resource than their predecessors, the generation X and the baby boomers.
About 35% of internet users born after 1982 said they preferred to communicate with companies through voice, while only 10% of those born between 1945 and 1964 claimed a preference for this type of search. The most sought after types of information are usually general information, weather, instructions, and tutorials.
How do I Optimize my Website for
Voice Search?
As we have seen, voice searches have been growing and consolidating in recent years – and the trend is that they will continue to strengthen. In view of this, it is essential that, starting this year, optimizations for voice searches are part of your SEO strategy permanently. To help them, we’ve separated 4 tips that we consider the most relevant when it comes to voice search.
1. Know who your consumer is
As mentioned a few lines above, there is a large generational gap among the largest users of this type of research. To know the best way to reach your audience, understand who they are and how they relate to these types of technology.
Some tips to understand this behavior are:
- Get a complete report of your mobile analytics data; they are more connected to voice searches than desktop data.
- Identify very accurate personas of your target audience and build a website that fits their needs.
- Demographic data are important.
- Make sure your site has a high-quality mobile experience, with high loading speeds and content adapted for this type of visit.
2. Focus on Long Tail Keywords
When we talk about voice searches, the most common ones start with what, who, how, when and where. So, to be well positioned in voice searches, identify questions that have to do with your business and that can be answered with these words. If you have a rug and carpet cleaning company in Vancouver, for example, you can focus on content that answers these questions. Like “where to have my rug cleaned in Vancouver?” or “when should I have my carpet washed?”, for example.
3. Create a FAQ Page
To answer your target audience’s questions, there’s nothing better than doing so through a question and answer page. The FAQ – or Frequent Asked Questions – pages are a great resource when using the question words cited in the topic above in your content, because they literally have the most common questions asked by the audience you want to reach. Use this page to fearlessly use and abuse all questions that relate to your main keywords.
4. Think Mobile and Local
We have already explained in several ways why voice searches are closely related to mobile and local searches. So, when developing and optimizing your website, don’t think about the desktop version first, ok?
A great tip to stand out in local searches is to have a robust profile on Google My Business, with all the information necessary for a potential customer ready to consume, such as opening hours, delivery options, address, other characteristics of the establishment (pet-friendly, space for children, open area, etc).
Voice Search SEO in Vancouver
With the growing preference for fast interactions and increasingly focused on mobile phones, improving your website’s SEO for voice is no longer a differentiator, but a necessity. We hope this content will be useful and if you need help designing the SEO strategy for your company in Vancouver, please contact us and we can help you.