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If you’re under the impression that voice search is merely a fad, you’re in for a big surprise!
All of the top marketing gurus call voice search the future of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and each have their valid reasons for making such claims.
It’s been found that voice search on Google has increased 35x since 2008. Furthermore, an Adobe survey pointed out that 48% of US adults use voice technology to perform general web searches.
It’s clear you should be focusing on voice search optimization, but before we go into the ‘how’ part, let’s understand what voice search actually is:
Table of Contents
What is Voice Search Optimization?
Voice search allows users to perform searches on the web by speaking directly into their computer or mobile device. It uses Natural Language Processing to interpret their voice commands and output a desired result.
Voice search has also changed how users make their queries. It’s made searches easier, longer and more conversational, which has impacted traditional SEO practices.
In order to rank higher in voice based search, you’ll need to optimize your website for Google voice search queries. Here are some tried and true strategies to get a head start.
How Do I Optimize Voice Search?
1.) Target the top three SERP positions. If you wish to have search engines recommend you in voice searches, your content should be aiming to appear in the top three search positions.
Since Google sources most of its content for voice search from high-ranking websites, work towards optimizing your website content following their SEO best practices.
2.) Incorporate long-tail questions and answers. Most people tend to ask question-based queries. If your content includes the question and a relevant, well thought-out answer, chances are that Google will choose to show your content in their featured snippets section.
Not only should your answer be relevant, it should also be short and concise. The optimal length of your featured snippets answer should be no more than 30 words.
In addition, including an FAQ page will work wonders for your page in the voice search SERPs.
3.) Use conversational Language. Compared to typed searches, voice searches are more natural-sounding in tone. While you might search for “best cafes in SC,” for voice search, you’ll most likely say something like: “Ok Google, what are the best cafes in SC?“
So, when crafting your website content (or looking for keywords to target), go after search terms that sound more natural and conversational.
What can voice search do?
By implementing these simple voice search optimization steps, you’ll make your business more discoverable and easier to find.
We hope you learned something today about voice search optimization. Visit our blog for more articles and subscribe to learn more about search engine marketing!