Voice Search is definitely here to stay. It’s not a momentary trend or a moist fad that will fade away any time soon. With Siri, Alexa, and Cortana becoming ever so popular and easy to access on smartphones, voice search has gained some serious traction off lately.

Its early adoption is indicative of how voice is gradually redefining the smartphone experience by making it immersive and intuitive as well as transforming the way SEO works. We all know the importance of SEO and how it is regarded as the founding pillar to a strong organic marketing campaign.

With voice search, there’s a profound shift in the way we search the web and that has to be considered when it comes to optimizing your startup’s website as well. Don’t believe the hype? Well, voice search stood on the third spot in a survey of SEO trends of 2017 and beyond.

In this article, we’ll deep dive into understanding voice search and how to optimize for it.

What is Voice Search?

Voice search describes the searches performed using your voice. This is especially common on smartphones and smart home devices that sport voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana. Voice search has largely replaced text-based search or ‘type to search’ since it is an easier and more effective method to search the web.

Voice search relies on Natural Language Processing (NLP) to recognize voice texture, interests, and behavior. As market leaders such as Apple and Google streamline and continue improving their algorithm, we can surely expect the voice search experience to become more seamless and smoother.

Things to know about Voice Search?

1. Voice Search Queries are Longer

Unlike text-based search which is short and to the point. voice searches are longer and more conversational in tone and query. For instance, if you were looking to buy a pair of headphones online, you’d type ‘buy wireless headphones’.

With voice search, you can search for ‘show me the best wireless Bluetooth headphones with mic and great battery life’. This means you need to optimize your content to include target long tail keywords.

However, that alone won’t do the trick. You need to include relevant question phrases in your content that you can get using tools such as  Answer the Public. You can also check out tools like Question Samurai and StoryBase for picking natural language phrases.

2. Voice Search Queries Are Targeted Towards Local Businesses

A majority of people use voice search on their smartphone or smart home device to search for local businesses offering local services around them. In fact, Google recently revealed that their “near me” searches have grown more than 130% YoY.

This is primarily attributed to people extensively using their smartphones to search on the fly with the search query for “things to do near me.”

The rising popularity of voice search means you should get your keywords right and optimize for local queries.

Here’s how you can incorporate relevant long tail keywords into your SEO strategy:

• Include phrases and words that people use to describe your business’s neighborhood.
• Add the phrase “near me” in your title tags, meta description, internal links, and anchor text.
• Mention landmarks around your business location or the titles of local institutions that are relevant to your business.

3. Voice Search Queries often have immediate results

Anyone who performs a voice search is usually looking for instant information. They will seldom visit your website or social media page. For instance, someone looking to order desserts online will perform a voice search ‘show me ice cream parlors near me’.

The respective search engine will instantly respond with the information of the nearest ice cream centers, their phone numbers and addresses, timings, reviews, and any other relevant information.

For your business to rank high on voice search, include customer reviews and ratings and upload your website with all necessary information such as your address, phone number, email address, working hours, etc.

How to optimize for Voice Search?  

1. Invest in Your FAQ and Blog Page

The smartest way to win at voice search is to answer questions that address your customers’ queries. Creating a dedicated FAQ page or creating specific blogs to answer most asked questions will help you to rank high for long tail keywords and boost SEO.

For instance, a user might type “Phone repair center near me,” and whilst using voice search, they would say “what is the nearest phone repair center near me.” It’s wise to keenly look out for and hear for the phrases and words people use to find you online.

Once you have a list of relevant and most commonly used phrases, you can incorporate them into your website content. Listen for any queries or issues that people have regarding your business and address those too.

Furthermore, you can edit and optimize existing content and FAQs for voice search by including relevant phrases and keywords.

2. Invest in a Responsive Website Design

Let’s face it, almost all voice searches happen over smartphones or smart tablets or smart home devices. This means you must have a responsive website that works seamlessly across devices and is optimized to offer a smooth user experience.

And that’s easy to do since most WordPress themes are inherently responsive and mobile friendly. What’s more is, even Google strongly advises opting for responsive web design.

You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool to test your website and check if your website is responsive. A responsive web design alone won’t be enough. You need to optimize your website to load quickly and this means formatting images and any other multimedia content.

As part of creating a responsive web design, you should also focus on content articulation and placement. Use smart typography and spread the content smartly and make way for enough whitespace so your design looks roomy.

These factors help a website to rank higher and make for great reviews which will add to your SEO juice needed to rank high on voice search results.

3. Invest in Listing your Business on Google

Since voice search is used mostly on smartphones by people looking for local businesses, it is imperative for you to list your business on Google. To help people find your business easily, you should claim your Google My Business Listing.

Include all relevant information such as your address, working hours, contact number, email, etc. on the footer of your website. While Google relies on long tail keywords and SEO for your business to rank higher, voice searches that include conversational questions with the suffix ‘near me’ are dependent on the user’s location in relation to your location as mentioned on your website.

Therefore, it is important that you clearly mention your business’s details on your website and that you select the right business category on Google.

Final Thoughts

Voice search has taken the world by storm and is going to continue to do so as voice assistants become a common feature across all smartphones. And so, it’s high time you stay ahead of the curve and optimize your website for voice search with the strategies we mentioned above.