Rise of Voice Search Optimization: Prepare Your Website
The digital space is changing quickly, and the latest ‘next big thing’ in search optimization is voice search optimization (VSO). With more people than ever shopping from smart speakers, as well as using voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri to search the internet, it’s important that businesses optimize their websites for voice search.
In this article, we’ll cover what voice search optimization is, why it matters, and how you can optimize your website to be ready for this new era of search behavior.
What is Voice Search Optimization (VSO)?
Voice search optimization is the practice of refining your website’s content and structure to better align with the natural language patterns of voice queries, making it more likely to appear in voice search results. For example, Google voice search optimization involves tailoring your content to meet the specific algorithms and ranking factors used by Google’s voice assistant, ensuring that your website provides relevant and accurate answers to user queries.
As opposed to traditional SEO, which focuses on text searches, VSO is centered on voice search queries that are performed using voice commands. Due to the popularity of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search has become an integral part of the user experience. For instance, simply uttering the words: ‘Hey Google, what is the weather like today?’ can yield an instantaneous response. As more consumers embrace this technology, businesses that invest in optimizing for voice search are more likely to see increased organic traffic and improved brand visibility.
How Do Voice Searches Differ from Text Searches?
Voice search is significantly different from text search, in how your users are likely to behave and how they might formulate a query. In a text search scenario, you are likely to get quite short and fragmented keywords. However, voice searches are likely to be longer. For example, in a text search scenario, you may see: “best pizza near me” However, the voice search query may go like this: “Where can I find the best pizza in my area?” The reason for this is because your users are more likely to speak the way they normally would, than to type in a query.
Voice search is more natural and can be quite conversational, almost resembling the way you would ask questions in real life. So, it’s important to understand the differences between voice search vs. text search, as voice searches typically involve longer, conversational queries, whereas text searches are often shorter and more fragmented.
Why is Voice Search Optimization Important for Businesses?
Voice search optimization is no longer a choice for businesses but a must-have feature to stay competitive. With voice assistants integrated into our daily lives, the way people search for products and services is changing. Businesses that do not recognize this shift could miss out on valuable organic traffic.
Key benefits of voice search optimization is improved user experience. If you are able to provide a short and relevant answer to users’ search queries, you will create a frictionless experience. Improved user experience leads to increased engagement and customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, optimizing for voice search, especially for local searches, can increase brand visibility. Many voice queries are location-based. If your business is operating locally, you need to have a strong local SEO strategy. The importance of voice search for businesses means improved user experience and brand visibility, ultimately driving more organic traffic and engaging customers through natural, conversational queries.
How to Optimize Your Website for Voice Search
Knowing how to optimize for voice search means learning how to structure your content to answer conversational queries, while also being a mobile-responsive, lightning-quick page. Boost your chances of showing up in voice search by figuring out how to optimize for featured snippets and structure your content to be a simple, quick answer to common queries. Here are some actionable steps for you to get started:
Step 1. Focus on Featured Snippets
Featured snippets tend to be the source of the answers that come up for voice search results. Make sure your content is optimized for voice search by showing up in snippets through answering common questions in a clear, coherent way. You can structure content in a question-and-answer format, like in a FAQ page, that will help you attract those coveted snippets.
Step 2. Use Structured Data
Schema markup, or structured data, helps you to support and explain your content so search engines understand the context of your web page. By using schema markup, you will increase your chances of being shown on voice results. It’s a key step in optimization for voice search because it helps to enhance your spot in search results.
Step 3. Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords
Since voice searches are more conversational, you should also focus on long-tail keywords and natural language phrases (think out loud, as if you were talking to someone). Do your keyword research for voice search to know what kind of questions your target audience is asking. You can use a tool like AnswerThePublic to find out what exact phrases your users are searching.
Step 4. Improve Page Load Speed and Mobile Optimization
Speedy load times and mobile-friendly designs are also key both for search optimization for voice and for traditional search. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites, and voice searches are primarily performed on mobile devices. If your site is optimized for speed and mobile performance, your chances of ranking for voice search are much greater.
Step 5. Prioritize Local SEO
Voice searches usually have a local intent. Make sure that your Google My Business listing and local citations are optimized so you appear in ‘near me’ voice searches. Make sure that you have accurate and correct business information such as the business name, address, phone number, and business hours.
Key Components of a Successful Voice Search Optimization Strategy
The key components of a successful VSO strategy include optimizing content for conversational queries, implementing structured data, and focusing on local SEO to enhance visibility and relevance in voice search results. Measuring VSO success requires tracking key performance indicators such as voice search rankings, organic traffic, and the number of featured snippets to evaluate the effectiveness of your optimization strategies. Developing a successful voice search optimization strategy involves several key components:
Content Optimization
Write content that answers users’ questions in a human-sounding and concise manner. Include conversational phrases and provide clear answers to common questions.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO plays a significant role in VSO. Make sure your website has structured data, mobile-first indexing and a fast design so that the search engines can better understand your content – and voice search can prioritize it.
Local SEO
If you want to succeed with voice search, you need to invest in local SEO: a large portion of voice searches are location-based. Make sure your business is listed on Google My Business, and that you’re optimizing for ‘near me’ queries to maximize your chances of showing up in local voice results.
How to Conduct Keyword Research for Voice Search
Unlike traditional SEO, where you might think of targeting short, very specific keywords for your website, voice search keyword research is likely to be conducted around long-tail, conversational phrases. Try doing a brainstorm to envision what questions people might ask out loud. Tools such as AnswerThePublic or Google’s People Also Ask feature can help you find common voice queries for your business topic.
Voice search queries are often more question-based, so when developing your keyword strategy, you might consider relying more on question words such as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’. If you concentrate on creating content around those types of questions, you’ll be well on your way to creating content that ranks well in voice search results.
Role of Structured Data in VSO
Structured data tells search engines how your website is structured and what it contains. Adding structured data to your website increases the likelihood that your website content will be pulled into voice search results, especially in rich snippets. Structured data can also improve your website’s overall search engine visibility, making it an important part of any voice search optimization strategy.
How to Optimize Content for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets tend to be the number one result on voice search queries, so if you can be highlighted as a snippet, that’s a really good chance to get your answers read by a voice searcher. By answering popular questions within your content marketing efforts – and answering those questions concisely – you can increase your chances of being selected as a snippet.
Short paragraphs answer ‘Who?’, ‘What?’ and ‘When?’ questions Short bullet points answer ‘How?’ questions. Short lists answer ‘Where?’ and ‘What is the best?’ questions. Construct your content in such a way that there are short paragraphs, bullet points and lists that answer the questions that searchers are likely to ask, and you’ll improve your chances of being selected as a snippet.
Significance of Local SEO for Voice Search
Because voice search is so strongly tied to location, being optimized for local SEO is a key part of optimizing a business for voice search. If a user asks Siri or Alexa for something nearby, you want your business to be listed. This means it’s important to make sure that you and your business are listed correctly on Google My Business. It’s also important to be sure your local citations are correct. Optimize for ‘near me’ searches if you want your business to show up in the voice search results.
Measuring the Success of Your Voice Search Optimization Efforts
How do you know if your voice search optimization is working? First, figure out what key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and how to track them. These might include the number of times your site appears in a featured snippet, your rankings for voice search queries, or simply organic traffic. You could use Google Search Console and specialized tools offered by VSO platforms to track your progress.
Some KPIs to look at include:
- The number of impressions and clicks from voice search.
- The amount of organic traffic that is coming from voice search sessions.
- An improved ranking for voice search queries.
Future Trends in Voice Search Optimization
In the future, voice search optimization will look very different because technology is constantly improving. The next logical step in terms of innovation will be a greater integration of AI and natural language processing, which will refine voice searches even further.
Another future trend is visual search integration, as well as a wider spread of multilingual voice search optimization. This would allow businesses to engage a broader international audience.
How to Get Started with Voice Search Optimization?
While optimizing your website for voice search can be a daunting task, there are a few steps you can take to get started with VSO.
Start by performing an SEO audit of your presence to see where adjustments are needed, and optimize for conversational long-tail keywords and structured data so that your content shows up in speech-based searches.
Create content that answers common questions, and make sure to optimize for mobile and load speed, as these factors heavily influence voice search rankings.
Finally, take advantage of industry blogs, online courses and SEO tools that can help you gain awareness of voice search trends and best practices to experiment with.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in VSO
Common pitfalls to avoid when conducting voice search optimization are keyword stuffing, which can lead to less readability, and bad UX. Ignoring mobile responsiveness is a mistake, considering an overwhelming majority of these searches are performed via mobile devices. Finally, don’t neglect local SEO, given a big percentage of voice searches have location-based intent.
Conclusion
Voice search optimization is the new kid on the block. If you are used to typing in your keyword or focus-keyword into the search box of Google and hitting the return key or clicking on the magnifying glass, voice search is about to change all that.
Structuring your data for search engines, optimizing your website for local listings, and optimizing your content for voice search will help your search ranking and increase your digital visibility. By jumping on the voice search optimization bandwagon today, you can make your website accessible for the growing number of voice search users.
