“Hey Siri, what is the best place to eat nearby?”
This is just one of the examples of how users nowadays are using modern voice-driven technologies to search for local businesses and service providers. More than 1 billion voice searches are made every month, and incorporating voice search SEO in your strategy is important for all businesses that aim to attract local customers.
When built on the right foundations, local SEO is very rewarding. Ranking for local customers can be supported by optimizing for voice search, since voice-driven devices are changing and shaping the way customers find information and reach out to businesses.
What Is Voice Search?
Voice search is an advanced technology with an increase in popularity, since it allows users to search online with their voice. This eliminates the need for typing, saves time, and makes the entire process faster. This technology converts the user’s voice into text, which is then processed by the search engines. Voice search has gained popularity with major advancements in NLP (natural language processing), and in the era of massive use of smart speakers and virtual assistants.
How Is Voice Search Different from Traditional Search?
Voice search and traditional text-based search are similar, since they produce the same, relevant results to the user, which is the only thing that matters from a customer point of view. However, the way they come up with the results is very different, and reflects in:
- Conversational language – voice searches rely on more conversational language, and have more natural, question or command-form inquiries, rather than a specific set of keywords just being thrown at the search engine.
- Long-tail keywords – queries submitted via voice search are longer in general and tend to be more specific. This makes it very important for businesses not to forget to target long-tail keywords as well when creating their strategy.
- Local focus – voice searches are mostly local-based, which makes it very important for businesses that try to rank locally. People who search for services or businesses nearby will use voice searches, which is why it’s important to include voice search optimization in the local SEO strategy.
Overall, even though customers will find what they need either way, some companies may be missing out on the benefits of voice search optimization by disregarding its importance.
Why Voice Search Matters in Local SEO?
01. Customer Behaviour
Voice search is changing the way local customers find information and interact with local businesses. A typical voice search user is more likely to ask for recommendations and make purchases through voice-enabled devices. Being able to rank locally for such queries will help increase local visibility and allow buyers who predominantly use voice search to discover you.
02. Increased Visibility
Many businesses disregard the importance of optimizing for local search, or think that standard optimization is enough to show in voice-inquired results, but the truth is that you can gain a competitive edge by utilizing the benefits on time. Increasing local visibility through voice search results can help you stand out from the competition on time.
03. User Experience
By optimizing your website for voice searches, you’re also increasing and enhancing user experience. This way, you’re engaging with your local customers, allowing them a hands-free way to find information, making it easier for them to communicate with you. You’re gaining trust from local customers, and also working on your reputation.
Why Is Voice Search Changing Local SEO Strategies?
SEO strategies in general are a very volatile category – they are constantly changing and adapting to search engines’ algorithm updates and new trends. Voice search optimization is one of them. It is a rather new trend that appeared recently, and it’s used mostly for fast finding of local services.
This is the main reason voice search is changing local SEO strategies, making businesses incorporate it and optimize for it. Ranking has never been more affected by so many factors, and voice search optimization is just one of them. For local businesses trying to attract local customers, voice search can be a powerful tool that can help them rank faster and attract more customers in a short time.
How to Optimize a Website for Voice Search?
01. Keyword Research
Every online search and query is based on keywords. Doing proper keyword research can help you rank in voice-search-generated results. Paying special attention to long-tail keywords is essential, but it’s also crucial to understand how customers use words, phrases, and what questions they ask in order to find relevant information.
02. Content Creation
Optimizing your website for voice search means you know exactly who users interact with voice-activated devices. Instead of focusing on standard keywords, long-tail keywords become the center of content creation. Long-tail phrases are the ones that reflect the natural language people use during voice search, and incorporating them in your content can help optimize your website for local search results.
03. Target Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are often read as answers in voice search queries. This is why targeting featured snippets is a great way to boost your voice search optimization strategy. The featured snippet also helps drive organic traffic to your website faster. Structuring your content in a way that has clear headings, lists, and concise definitions is one of the ways to help land the featured snippet.
04. Optimize for Local Searches
Local-specific businesses that are strictly tied to geographical locations need to be fully optimized for local SEO, not just for voice search. Local audience can be targeted via on-page SEO, location-specific keywords, optimized GBP, and local business schema. To learn more about how to build a local SEO strategy from scratch, click here.
05. Use Schema Markup
Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand the context and the meaning of your content. Having it increases the chances of your business appearing in results driven by voice search. Implementing it is very easy, and you don’t have to be a coder to do it. There are various SEO plugins that help you create and include the schema markup on your website.
06. Optimize for Mobile
Voice searches are prevalently used on mobile devices, which is why it’s important for your website to be mobile optimized and have fast loading speeds. Mobile optimization is crucial, and it can be achieved by applying responsive design, optimized images and videos, a mobile-first approach in creating every piece of content, FAQ schema, etc.
07. Target People Also Ask Section
Voice assistants are designed to pull information from the People Also Ask (PAA) section of the search results. This section shows related questions that searches may also have about the topic they’re investigating, and it’s typically shown at the top of the SERPs. Targeting this section can also help be shown in voice-search-driven results. To be featured here, make sure to publish high-quality content that provides value and create question-based content that answers questions directly.
What Are the Benefits of Voice Search Optimization?
Voice search optimization has one major benefit – improved user engagement. Almost all SEO activities on the website are aimed at increasing online visibility, building and boosting trust and reliability, and satisfying user needs. Optimization can lead to increased traffic from local customers, higher retention rates, and a better local competitive position by locking in a position in voice search results.
Ranking locally and reaching customers in your vicinity means you’ll have to utilize every strategy that’s available. Not every business considers it mandatory to optimize for voice searches, which makes it the perfect time to hop on the train and use the benefits it brings, before your competition does.
Conclusion
Voice search is definitely one of the most disregarded elements in modern SEO. Businesses that hop on and optimize their websites for voice search queries don’t miss a chance to attract a new generation of local customers who focus on mobile-first queries. Voice search can help you attract and engage with new customers better, giving them the option to discover your brand not only through traditional search, but through modern searches as well.
