Brace Yourselves For The Era of Voice Search and Voice SEO
Lately, one of the hottest yet nuanced topics in the Internet space has been Voice Search and Voice SEO.
Voice search is growing at a rapid pace and for a fairly good reason. It is fast, convenient, allows you to search on the move, and overall it’s pretty cool. Moreover, as the technology behind voice search assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana improve, it might become the primary search method for most of us.
To prepare for this surge, smart marketers are well on their way to tailoring their SEO strategies for voice search. As typed-out search terms gradually lose popularity, it’s going to get crucial to start making the necessary adjustments to maintain the website’s search rank.
Mentioned below are some of the many ways that indicate how voice search will shape the future of SEO along with some tips on how to prepare for this change.
1. Use natural speech patterns
Most users don’t type as they speak, especially when it comes to searching for something online. Think about it, when you’re searching for something through typing, you tend to use the shorthand method. For example, you’re more likely to type “buy handmade bags” if you’re looking for eCommerce websites selling handmade bags. However, when you speak, you tend to use the complete question — “from where I can buy handmade bags in Connecticut?” This change has made it imperative for voice search and SEO to pick up on the user’s natural speech patterns.
As the programming behind voice search gets better, marketers interested in the trend will have to reflect this change in their strategies. And one of the greatest ways to do this is to make use of tools like Rank Tracker. This tool will give you the data that can help you develop language that works well with natural speech patterns of voice search users.
What this also suggests is that now is the best time to start considering optimizing your content for voice search to boost your search rankings. Try writing in a more conversational tone to pick up on the nuances of everyday language.
2. Start using long-tail keywords
Considering the growing bend towards using natural speech patterns, short-tail keywords are becoming less relevant and natural phrases used by people are gaining momentum. More emphasis is being put on using conversational, long-tail keywords to boost your SEO. These keywords involve specific phrases that are used by people closer to the point of purchase.
For example, if you sell furniture, the short keyword “furniture” will most likely not cut it in the voice search era. Instead, you could use keywords like “contemporary art deco-inspired bed in Cleveland” to better reflect what your potential customers are looking for.
3. Get mobile friendly
The worldwide popularity of smartphones is old news at this point. According to Bright Edge Mobile Search Report, 62% of organic searches display different results on desktop vs mobile. With millions of queries being done on-the-go via smartphones; it has become a prime platform for marketers to focus on in the context of voice search SEO. Marketers are optimizing their content for mobile devices to appear higher on voice search ranking.
One of the ways to do this is to take Google’s mobile-friendly test, which tells you if your web page will rank in mobile search. Ensure that all your resources are crawlable and keep your load time to the minimum by compressing images. This way, when a user asks their smartphone a question related to your content, your website will pop up to the top of the list.
4. Get voice search-friendly domain names
Your domain name plays a significant role in this new search era. Let’s understand this with a simple exercise. Consider these two websites:
- www.unique-buttonz.com
- www.buttons.store
Now if you were to say these URLs out loud to a voice search assistant, which one would be easier to say and have a better chance of you landing on the right page? The second one, obviously! Good domain names are short, simple and memorable. Chances are people will forget to say the hyphen or not specify the different spelling of “buttons”, and that’s a loss to your business.
New domain extensions such as .TECH, .STORE, .SPACE, .PRESS, .FUN, .HOST, .WEBSITE, etc allow you to have a domain name that is voice search friendly.
Final Thoughts
Voice search and SEO are going to be tricky. Strong accents could be one of the biggest challenges that voice search would have to overcome. But with consistent advancements in technology, it doesn’t seem too far away in the future when voice will completely take over the Internet. As a business owner, the sooner you start optimizing your content for it, the sooner you’ll reap its benefits.
