“Hey, Google!”
“How can I help you?”
“Is there any burrito place nearby?”
Just like that, you get a list of high-ranking eateries serving burritos near your location within 2 to 3 seconds. Definitely beats opening a browser and typing in the question. Your target audience is changing rapidly and to keep up with them, you need to incorporate their preferences and habits in your marketing strategy.
More and more people are using voice search every day, making it important for businesses to optimize their websites to rank higher on voice searches as well.
The Importance of Voice Search Optimization
Optimizing your website for voice search should be on your list of priorities. While Google has maintained its popularity as the most preferred text search engine, its popularity further grew with the introduction of voice search.
According to Forbes, one billion voice searches were made monthly by January 2018. Imagine how much the numbers might have grown since then! The article predicts that by the year 2020, more than half of all online searches will be made using the voice command.
Why do people prefer voice searches?
One short answer – smartphones!
Almost everyone has a smartphone nowadays and we use it the most when looking up things. Using the voice search command makes online search quicker and easier, especially when you are on the road. This, along with the statistics, makes it integral for you to optimize your website for voice search.
Tips To Optimize Your Website for Voice Search
Following are some of the ways you can create a voice search-optimized website:
1. List Your Business
Listing your business on Google My Business is most important if you have a local business. If you aren’t listed, then your business will drown underneath numerous local businesses for voice search even if it is the most relevant.
Unlike the text search results, the voice search for both Apple and Android devices give preference to business listings. Therefore, listing your business is the first step to benefit from a voice search-optimized website.
2. Add a FAQ Page on Your Website
In most cases, users typically ask a question. This is the reason why you need to create a page specifically to answer the commonly asked questions by your target audience. Think of the typical queries your potential customers might have regarding your products or services, or general questions relating to your niche. Make sure to include them all in this page so that the voice assistant can use your information to answer the user’s question.
3. Conduct a Keywords Search
Researching relevant keywords is important for optimization, but keep in mind that online users will be speaking instead of typing. This means they will utilize a long string of words so you need to include long-tail keywords instead of short ones.
Opting for long-tail keywords can help in optimizing your website for the featured snippets. Voice assistants are more focused on directing the user towards the best suitable product or action instead of offering them with options.
4. Create both Short and Long-Form Content
The successful optimization of your website with relevant keywords is also dependant on the quality of the content you provide. It is essential to include high-quality content that offers valuable content to users, providing them with solutions to their problems.
The more valuable your content is, the higher it will rank on search engine results. It is best to provide both long-form and short-form content. Short-form content focuses on providing quick answers from your website, whereas long-form content keeps them interested in your brand and become your regular customers/readers.
5. Incorporate Local SEO
Voice searches are mostly focused on finding a product or service nearby. Therefore, you must ensure the keywords you utilize are local and offer solutions accordingly.
6. Utilize Shorter Sentences and Simple Language
Your target audience will ask questions in simple words, which the voice assistant will base its search results on. Moreover, the shorter the answer is, the more likely users will read it first. If they are satisfied with the answer, then they might even open up your website to look further.
Therefore, focus on providing valuable information in short and in simple words to organically enhance the traffic of your website.
7. Improve the Loading Time of All Web Pages
Lastly, the loading speed of your web page also plays a crucial role in the search results ranking. This is true for both text search and voice search.
Moreover, since there is a large amount of information on the web, the quicker your website loads, the more chances it has to rank higher in search results. Hence, you need to regularly monitor the loading time of each web page to make sure it is ranked higher.
Voice searches have become a major trend in today’s fast-paced world – the quicker you add it to your website, the more positive outcomes you will enjoy. However, to reap the full benefits of voice search, you must make sure that you have a voice search-optimized website.
Indeed, it can be difficult to focus on ranking high on both text and voice search, but with the right strategy and action plan, you can optimize your website for both, successfully. Using both long-tail and short-tail keywords is one of the most effective ways of maintaining a fully optimized website. Don’t be afraid to get professional help in case you are having problems. A little investment initially can bring substantial results in the future!
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Qamar Zaman is the Chief Officer of KissPR which stands for Keep-It-Super-Simple & Promising-Results! The organization is a digital marketing agency which caters to small and medium business owners.
