Voice Search SEO : Why You Need to Optimize
Understanding that the future is conversational and the gen-next is tech-savvy is important. They don’t hesitate to ask for directions, help with homework or call for help through voice command. Ignoring this trend is going to be an expensive mistake, no business should make for future sustenance.
Siri took the digital world by storm when launched in 2012. Since then many voice recognition technologies like Google Voice Search, Alexa etc., have been launched. Research indicates that by 2020 more than 50% of internet queries will be via voice search. So, if businesses are keen to stay ahead of the pack and optimize their search features, here are some pointers on how to capitalize on voice search.
Location/on-screen context optimized voice search
Voice search is mostly used to identify physical places around the consumer. A voice command would direct the search engine to throw results in a specified area or demand locations in the area where they are traveling. Hence, it is important to be specific on the location, name, business details, phone numbers and directions for search engines to rank your page amongst the top five. Cross check this data as it appears on the website since Google will rank it accordingly on its pages.
Searches may be directed based on on-screen browsing, apps or even your personal information. Search engines are working to provide conversational shopping experiences, hence it is even more imperative to fine tune categories and user information to be visible high up on search results.
Microdata optimization
Ensure that directions to physical locations and XML sitemaps are easily visible to site visitors and search engines. Invest in call tracking technology to understand where the customers saw brand messages and what helps it in conversion to sales. This channel is critical especially as multi-channel campaigns are launched by companies to reach prospects and convert new customers.
Emphasis on long tail search words and conversational language
Regular search phrases and voice search phrases differ a lot. While typing, a succinct keyword phrase is required to throw up the results. Voice search is basically a conversation with their phone and users would generally input long phrases to search for a particular outcome. Think conversationally to identify the kind of natural language and spoken questions that would bring consumers to your site. Identify conversational keywords for search results and make room for colloquial terminology and accent to optimize on voice search.
Use words/phrases to append with questions phrases such as “which”, “what”, “who” or “how” to create an optimized voice SEO for your site. It is beneficial to create FAQ style content in your product and blog pages identify deeper search intent and optimize on queries.
With the advent of personal voice assistants, companies also need to ramp up their inbound call strategies, since it gives the customer access to directly call the companies based on their locations.
Mobile friendly voice search features
As more and more searches migrate from desktop to mobile phones, Google has shifted its emphasis to mobile responsive pages. Voice search is almost an exclusively used on mobile phones. Hence, introducing mobile friendly voice search features are a must. Not only should one ramp up their design but speed and load time of the website pages should be geared up too. Utilize Mobile- Friendly Test to see if your website is up to the mark. Make the content of the website scannable and navigable using thumb or index finger. Enhance the user experience along with sophisticated voice features to optimize your sites SEO on search.
Optimization as per search engines
Another important factor in the success of voice search is tailoring them as per the different search engines. Microsoft (Cortana), Google (Google Now), Amazon (Alexa) and Apple (Siri) have all launched their voice searches and have unique algorithms with which they sort the data for search results. With changing dynamics and multi-platform usage by customers, customization of voice search modalities is imperative for businesses.
Understanding that the future is conversational and the gen-next is tech-savvy is important. They don’t hesitate to ask for directions, help with homework or call for help through voice command. Ignoring this trend is going to be an expensive mistake, no business should make for future sustenance.