Improve Your Rankings With 5 Voice Search Optimization Tips!
Voice Search Optimization Agency
There’s a strong possibility you have a voice search gadget on your phone or on your work desk now (maybe even on your wrist). One of the reasons voice search is so popular is that the technology is built into practically every gadget we own, making it extremely convenient to use.
The chances are that you use voice search multiple times a day, without giving it much thought, as randomly asking Alexa/Siri/Google to tell you something, find you something, or do a quick Internet search for you is becoming second nature for most of us.
With all of this in mind, if your website is central to your brand – which all business websites are – and it’s not optimized for voice search, then you are missing out on traffic. And as more people switch from typed search to voice search, you’ll be missing out on even more.
As a leading voice search optimization agency at Pearl Lemon, we emphasize the importance of this emerging field to our clients all the time. And we’re here to emphasize its importance to you, too. If your website isn’t optimized for voice search, then your SEO efforts – if you make them – are not delivering all they could, and you need an expert voice search optimization agency to help you change that.
What is Voice Search Optimization?
The process of improving and simplifying the information on your webpages so that it appears in voice searches is known as voice search optimization. When users make verbal searches, voice search optimization seeks to optimize your page to answer their questions. This strategy offers the chance to have your page read aloud by a voice search device (Alexa, Siri, Google) whenever a user requests information that the content of your website is relevant to.
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Voice Search Stats You Need to Know
We mentioned that the use of voice search is increasing, but admittedly, that’s a rather vague statement. An investment of time and money in (yet) another SEO strategy is one you’d probably like solid stats on to justify. So here are some voice search statistics we think you should know:
- Voice search is used by 58 percent of consumers to find information about a local business online (source, Price Waterhouse Cooper)
- Voice search on mobile is used by 27% of regular Google search users
- Most Smart speaker owners keep their gadgets in a communal area, such as the living room, where 52% of voice search users keep a gadget. A smart speaker was kept in the kitchen by 25% of regular voice search users, while a similar device was kept in the bedroom by 22%. And in 75% of these cases, the speaker was used by more than one household member.
- 60 % of individuals say smart devices are indispensable in their daily routines and that they can’t imagine life without them.
- Voice searches accounted for 25% of Windows 10 desktop searches.
- 56% of voice searches are used to check something on the internet that users previously used a typed search for.
- As the number of gadgets that include a smart assistant as a ‘built in’ increases, these already impressive figures are forecasted to increase significantly.
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How is Voice Search Different From Standard SEO?
As a leading voice search optimization agency, we hear this question a lot. And the answer can be a long and involved one, as while good traditional SEO will certainly help your site get found in voice search, there are some aspects of an SEO campaign that should focus on the differences between a typed search and a voice search that should then be adjusted accordingly. It’s these differences, which can be very subtle yet still very important, that as a voice search optimization agency, Pearl Lemon focuses on.
Optimizing for Directional Search
Standard questions are not the same as voice search queries. You must account for this in your optimization plan because people speak differently than they type.
For instance, on a PC, someone would enter “how to make chicken wings,” but using voice search, they might say, “How do I make chicken wings?”
Because voice search is a conversation, these search phrases differ slightly. Users converse with their devices as if they were conversing with a friend or family member.
Furthermore, conversational inquiries can be more directional than typed queries.
So, instead of typing “recipes for chicken wings,” someone might say “show me recipes for chicken wings” while using a voice search device. In this example, voice searchers are instructing the search gadget on what they want it to do.
You need to optimize for conversational questions if you want to master how to optimize for voice search. You’ll need to come up with a list of potential questions that your audience might have about the content on your pages. These questions will still need to be keyword focused, but you may need to use different keywords, which is where the keyword research expertise of a voice search optimization agency will prove invaluable.
Optimizing for Near Me Voice Searches
As many people have a smart assistant on their phone, on their desk and/or in the kitchen or living room, they tend to use them to make lots of local searches, especially what are known as near me searches.
By this we mean searches like ‘Alexa, where can I buy a latte near me?’ or ‘Hey Google, where can I get the best pizza near me?’ or ‘Hey Siri, where can I find a plumber near me?’. These are questions that usually have an immediate purchase intent behind them, so they are being made by a very important audience, one it is crucial most businesses attract the attention of.
Smart assistants pull this information, for the most part, from Google Local. They display it in different ways – Alexa, for example, will read out a list in a 1,2,3 order, Google will do something similar while Siri will both speak the results of what she finds and offer clickable links (Alexa and Google do too, but you have to go to their separate apps to see them which is less immediate) Almost all voice search devices then also have the ability to call the business in question immediately too, making an immediate purchase even more likely.
This means that your local SEO must take conversational queries into account, and you must ensure that search engines understand EXACTLY the areas you serve. This is achieved by optimizing your Google My Business and Bing business pages, something that Pearl Lemon can help you with, as doing so is not always straightforward and is certainly time-consuming.
The Importance of Schema in Voice Search Optimization
Schema markup, often known as structured data markup, is a type of HTML data that is incorporated into your website. The goal of schema is to make it easier for search engines to find your website. Schema gives search engines a more comprehensive understanding of your website’s content and intent.
Consider this: search engines like Google have progressed to the point where they’re very intuitive about detecting intent, but they still require assistance. Schema markup is a way of telling search engines how to better understand your objective, target audience, and the value you bring to search engine users. Search engines will be able to better align your website with relevant search queries as a result of this. In other words, schema markup is critical for increasing your internet visibility.
Because voice users search for information differently than text users, search engines will look for distinct indicators of intent and relevance. You’re essentially presenting Google with a road plan that brings voice users to your digital doorstep by tweaking schema markup to appeal to voice search consumers.
Most website owners, even if they ‘tinker’ with some aspects of SEO themselves, don’t understand, or even like coding, and schema markup involves some pretty complex code that when done right can really boost your SEO but when done wrong, really mess it up. Working with an expert voice search optimization agency like Pearl Lemon ensures it’s done right.
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Contact us to speak with a specialist about how our voice search search optimization agency services can help your company reach a new pool of clients through voice search and ensure that when someone asks Alexa for what you offer, she includes you in her response!
