Voice search is not a fad — it’s a reality. More and more people are using voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant to search for information, products, and services on the web. According to a report by Juniper Research, voice-based ad revenue could reach $19 billion by 2022, and voice commerce sales could hit $40 billion by 2023.
Voice search is not only convenient and fast, but also natural and human. It allows users to interact with their devices in a more conversational and personal way. It also enables users to search for things that are hard to type or spell, such as long-tail keywords, foreign words, or complex queries.
But voice search is not the same as text search. When users speak to their devices, they use different words, phrases, and tones than when they type on a keyboard. They also expect different results, such as direct answers, local suggestions, or personalized recommendations.
This means that optimizing your website for voice search is not the same as optimizing it for text search. You need to adapt your content, structure, and SEO strategy to match the intent and behavior of voice searchers.
In this blog post, we will show you how to do that in five easy steps. Let’s get started.
Step 1: Use long-tail keywords and natural language
One of the main differences between voice search and text search is the length and style of the queries. Voice search queries tend to be longer, more specific, and more conversational than text search queries.
For example, a text searcher might type “best pizza near me”, while a voice searcher might say “Hey Siri, where can I get the best pizza in town?”
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to use long-tail keywords and natural language in your content. Long-tail keywords are keywords that consist of three or more words and have low competition and high specificity. Natural language is language that reflects how people speak in real life, using questions, prepositions, modifiers, etc.
To find long-tail keywords and natural language phrases for your website, you can use tools like AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked. These tools will show you the most common questions and topics that people ask around your main keyword. You can also use tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer or Moz’s Keyword Explorer to see the related keywords and questions that people search for on Google.
You can then use these long-tail keywords and natural language phrases in your content, especially in your title tags, headings, subheadings, meta descriptions, and body paragraphs. You can also use them in your schema markup, which we will discuss later.
Step 2: Provide direct and concise answers
Another difference between voice search and text search is the format and expectation of the results. Voice search results tend to be more direct, concise, and actionable than text search results.
For example, a text searcher might be satisfied with a list of pizza places near them, while a voice searcher might want to know the name, address, phone number, rating, and opening hours of the best pizza place near them.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to provide direct and concise answers to the queries that your target audience might ask. You need to anticipate their needs and provide them with the best solution or information possible.
One of the best ways to do that is to create frequently asked questions (FAQs) pages on your website. FAQs pages are pages that answer common questions that your potential customers might have about your products, services, industry, etc. They are great for voice search optimization because they match the question-and-answer format of voice queries.
To create FAQs pages for your website, you need to research the most relevant and popular questions that your target audience might ask. You can use tools like AnswerThePublic, AlsoAsked, Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, or Moz’s Keyword Explorer to find these questions. You can also use tools like Google’s People Also Ask feature or Quora to see what other questions people are asking around your topic.
You then need to answer these questions in a clear and direct way on your FAQs pages. You need to keep your answers short and simple, preferably between 40 to 60 words. You also need to use keywords and variations in your answers, as well as schema markup (more on that later).
Step 3: Optimize for local searches
Another difference between voice search and text search is the location and context of the queries. Voice search queries tend to be more local and mobile than text search queries.
For example, a text searcher might be looking for pizza places from their desktop computer at home or work, while a voice searcher might be looking for pizza places from their smartphone while driving or walking.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to optimize it for local searches as well. Local searches are searches that have a local intent or a geographic modifier, such as “near me”, “in [city]”, or “[city] [service]”.
To optimize your website for local searches, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing: Google My Business is a free tool from Google that helps you manage your online presence across Google Search and Maps. You can use it to claim and verify your business name, address, phone number, website, category, hours, etc. You can also use it to add photos, videos, reviews, posts, etc. to enhance your listing and attract more customers.
- Use local keywords and schema markup: You need to use local keywords and schema markup in your content and SEO elements, such as your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, subheadings, body paragraphs, etc. Local keywords are keywords that include your location or service area, such as “[city] pizza” or “pizza delivery near me”. Schema markup is a code that helps Google understand your content better and display it in rich results, such as local packs, maps, reviews, etc. You can use tools like Schema.org or Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate schema markup for your content.
- Get local citations and backlinks: You need to get local citations and backlinks from other reputable and relevant websites in your area or niche. Local citations are online mentions of your business name, address, phone number, website, etc. on other websites, such as directories, social media platforms, review sites, etc. Local backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. Both local citations and backlinks can help you improve your local authority and trustworthiness and boost your rankings on Google.
Step 4: Optimize for mobile devices
Another difference between voice search and text search is the device and screen size of the queries. Voice search queries tend to be more mobile and small-screen than text search queries.
For example, a text searcher might be using a laptop or a tablet with a large screen and a keyboard, while a voice searcher might be using a smartphone or a smart speaker with a small screen and no keyboard.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to optimize it for mobile devices as well. Mobile devices are devices that have a small screen size and can be used on the go, such as smartphones, smartwatches, smart speakers, etc.
To optimize your website for mobile devices, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Use responsive design: Responsive design is a web design technique that adapts your website’s layout and content to fit different screen sizes and orientations. It ensures that your website looks good and works well on any device that your users might use. You can use tools like Bootstrap or WordPress to create responsive websites easily.
- Improve your page speed: Page speed is the time it takes for your web page to load completely on a device. It affects both your user experience and your SEO performance. Users tend to abandon slow-loading pages and search engines tend to rank them lower. You can use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to measure and improve your page speed.
- Use HTTPS: HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts the data that is exchanged between your website and your users’ devices. It protects both your website and your users from hackers, malware, phishing, etc. It also improves your user trust and SEO performance. You can use tools like Let’s Encrypt or Cloudflare to enable HTTPS on your website.
Step 5: Optimize for voice assistants
Another difference between voice search and text search is the platform and interface of the queries. Voice search queries tend to be more voice assistant-based than text search queries.
For example, a text searcher might be using Google Search on their browser or app, while a voice searcher might be using Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant on their smart device.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to optimize it for voice assistants as well. Voice assistants are software applications that use natural language processing and artificial intelligence to understand and respond to voice commands from users. They can perform various tasks, such as searching the web, playing music, setting reminders, ordering products, etc.
To optimize your website for voice assistants, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Use structured data and schema markup: Structured data and schema markup are code that help voice assistants understand your content better and display it in rich results, such as featured snippets, knowledge panels, actions, etc. You can use tools like Schema.org or Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate structured data and schema markup for your content.
- Use speakable markup: Speakable markup is a type of schema markup that helps voice assistants identify and read aloud the most relevant and important parts of your content. It can help you improve your user experience and engagement by providing users with a summary or a highlight of your content. You can use tools like Google’s Speakable Markup Documentation or Google’s Speakable Testing Tool to create and test speakable markup for your content.
- Use voice actions: Voice actions are a type of schema markup that help voice assistants perform specific actions on your website or app, such as booking a reservation, ordering a product, playing a game, etc. They can help you increase your conversions and revenue by providing users with a convenient and seamless way to interact with your website or app. You can use tools like Google’s Voice Actions Documentation or Google’s Voice Actions Testing Tool to create and test voice actions for your website or app.
Step 6: Keep up with the latest trends and updates on voice search
The final step to optimize your website for voice search is to keep up with the latest trends and updates on voice search.
You need to stay updated on the latest developments and changes that Google and other voice assistant platforms make regarding voice search, such as new features, algorithms, guidelines, etc. You also need to follow the best practices and recommendations that they provide for voice search optimization.
There are some resources that you can use to keep up with the latest trends and updates on voice search, such as:
- Google’s Webmaster Central Blog: This is the official blog from Google that provides news and updates on Google Search and its features, including voice search. You can use it to learn about the latest announcements, changes, tips, and insights from Google regarding voice search.
- Google’s Voice Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines: This is a document from Google that provides guidelines for evaluating the quality of voice search results and interactions, including speakable markup and voice actions. You can use it to understand how Google defines and measures quality, relevance, authority, trustworthiness, etc. for voice search.
- Google’s Voice Search Help Center: This is a help center from Google that provides answers to frequently asked questions about voice search. You can use it to learn about the basics of voice search, such as how it works, how to use it, how to troubleshoot it, etc.
- Voice Search Blogs and Podcasts: There are many voice search blogs and podcasts that provide valuable information and insights on voice search and other related topics. Some of the ones that we recommend are Voicebot.ai, The Voice Search Podcast, The Voice Tech Podcast, The Voice First Roundtable, etc.
Conclusion
Voice search is not a fad — it’s a reality. More and more people are using voice assistants to search for information, products, and services on the web. Voice search is not only convenient and fast but also natural and human.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to follow these six steps:
- Use long-tail keywords and natural language
- Provide direct and concise answers
- Optimize for local searches
- Optimize for mobile devices
- Optimize for voice assistants
- Keep up with the latest trends and updates on voice search
We hope that this blog post has given you a complete guide on how to optimize your website for voice search.
If you need more help with voice search optimization or any other aspect of SEO, feel free to contact us. We are a team of SEO experts who can help you skyrocket your website traffic with voice search optimization and other SEO strategies.