When was the last time you asked Siri to tell you the name of an actor in a TV episode, or said, “Hey, Google, how late is Trader Joe’s open?”
That’s voice search at work. And it’s not just making your life easier; it’s expected to upend SEO as we know it.
Voice search technology uses smart assistants (like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa) to answer questions spoken out loud by the device’s owner. At first, it seemed like a fun novelty. But in just a handful of years, voice search has quickly woven its way into our lives.
One in four people use voice search on their mobile device. And for the over 60 million Americans who own a voice-activated speaker, 72% say they use it on a daily basis.
The bottom line: Voice search isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to adapt search engine optimization methods to this new reality.
If you want to succeed at SEO, traditional text-based search is no longer enough. You have to account for voice, too. Here are four steps you can take now.
Sections
1. Optimize your Google My Business listing
Are you a local business? You might be interested to know that 46% of voice search users use it to find a local business on a daily basis. They’re looking to:
- Make reservations
- Get pricing
- Discover products
You can make all of these things happen with voice search. You just need to completely fill out your Google My Business profile. Make sure your hours, location, and product offerings are up to date.
Voice search assistants — in particular, Google (which is tied with Alexa for the most market share) — rely on Google My Business profile data to answer voice search queries and “near me” searches.
While you’re at it, do a quick review of all your local business listings. Check that your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) are consistent across all the directories where you’re listed. Voice search technology cross references across various sites, including Yelp, Google, Bing, and TripAdvisor.
2. Implement schema markup
Are you leveraging schema markup on your website? Schema markup is code you add to your website to make it easier for search engines to understand and extract information from your website — increasing your visibility in the search results
For example, Google’s free product listings can be generated from schema markup. You can add schema markup for products, events, job listings, how-to articles, recipes, and more. You can see a full list of the schema markup Google supports here.
3. Answer questions with your content
Questions make up a significant portion of voice-based searches; it’s part of the conversational nature of voice assistants.
So, use that to your advantage. Create content that answers questions. Here’s a pro tip. When drafting your blog articles, structure your H2s and H3s as questions. Then, answer them in a short paragraph below to increase your chances of ranking for a featured snippet. These are the expanded results you see at the top of Google, and they’re the same thing voice assistants read out loud.
Also consider what other content on your website follows a question and answer format, like your FAQ pages. Add schema markup to make it easier for voice search assistants to find.
4. Think about the long-tail
Long-tail keywords represent longer, more specific keywords. For example, a specific query like “how to optimize for voice search” is long-tail, while the broader topic of “voice search” is a short-tail keyword.
Long-tail keywords represent the vast majority of internet searches, so they’re likely already a part of your SEO keyword strategy, but they’re even more essential to voice search, since this search medium lends itself to conversational phrasing.
Refine your content strategy to optimize more for the long-tail. Get specific. It will pay off for voice search.
Voice search is here
Today, we’re all adapting our strategies to optimize for voice search. Before we know it, there will be something new we’re optimizing for. SEO is always evolving. That’s what makes it so fun.
It also makes it a challenge to keep up. That’s why it’s helpful to have a savvy agency on your side — a team who makes it their priority to know the latest in digital marketing, and gives you the insights and tools you need to make those trends work for your strategy. Your Marketing People can be that agency for you. Contact us today to learn more.
