What is voice search?

Voice search is simply a technology that allows users to complete searches by speaking in to a device, usually their smartphones. Home assistant devices, such as Google Home and Amazon Echo are becoming more prevalent in the usage of voice search.

According to a study done by Search Engine Land, 50% of all searches will be done through voice by 2020. This is partly due to consumers being extremely busy and with their hands always occupied, they can still use their voice to complete a needed inquiry.

Also, another recent study found that only 4% of businesses use voice search in their operations. How can you optimize your use of this tactic?

By utilizing the strength of your digital marketing strategies and your SEO, voice search can be incorporated in to the strategy. What you need to account for now is voice search SEO, which will improve the consumer experience. Voice search is faster and more convenient for the user – so your website content will need to be fully optimized, especially in mobile view, to be one of, if not the first result shared.

Here are some ways that voice search will affect your SEO strategy:

• More conversational language is used
• Longer question query transformation in to text is needed
• Featurettes of text will be highlighted
• More informative content increases

The biggest of those changes between text and voice searches is how a user speaks and asks the question. Instead of “restaurants near me” typed in to your search engine, you will ask your smart device “what are the best restaurants in Albany Park Chicago?” when speaking. Your website will then have to be optimized with enough information that could be used in a conversation to come up as one of the top choices.

How can your business optimize your website for voice search?

These tips can help you build a data-driven strategy that can increase transactions.

• Use natural sounding speech – as mentioned above the conversational tone to voice search is the biggest characteristic of how text and voice searches differ
• Form queries into question phrases – think about a conversation with a friend and how you ask questions about places that you are interested or need to find
• Provide concise answers to questions – like text searches, voice searches need to provide the clearest results for the user as most searches take place on a mobile phone or are being spoken to the user by their home assistant devices
• Focus on long-tail keywords – these three or four keyword phrases need to be very specific to ensure best results for the user
• Tighten up your website – make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easily clickable with little buffering
• Review content of website – comb the site and/or switch up content that will boost your page and company up in the results from the user’s conversational tone and need
• Make sure all necessary business profiles are complete and updated

What are the results from optimized content?

All these elements can and will improve your customer’s experience. It will be more tailored and personalized to their needs. This is shown by home assistant devices being able to even distinguish between different voices, which allows for behavioral data patterns to be stored and used in a strategic way. When you combine this data with your perfectly optimized website, this will enhance the complete user experience and foster the building of brand loyalty.

When you have a strong text and voice SEO strategy in place, you are driving traffic to your website and increasing brand awareness. This will increase exposure of product and company features that you want highlighted on the search snippets or on your home page. The voice search, just like text, allows for the user to open the website from the results pulled. This isn’t a conventional way that we think of driving traffic, but the voice technology is gaining momentum and this will be how the user will get to results and your website needs to account for this.

Another great benefit of voice search is how it will build the small business community. In a time of online shopping giants, the brick-and-mortar stores want and need the foot traffic as well as that strong online presence. More than 55% of voice searches are looking to find local businesses. This offers tremendous opportunity for “mom and pop” shops in our communities!

Colleen Eakins Design can help strategize what components will be needed on your website to guide you in producing the best content to be shown at the top the search!