It’s no surprise that everybody’s vying for those top spots on search engine results pages (SERPs). Of course, there’s only limited real estate on page one, which means not everybody can be a winner. In today’s world, it’s not just about creating SEO that makes the search engines happy; it’s about creating content that’s voice-searchable. By 2027, it was estimated that 64% of all web sessions will be conducted via voice. This changed the game for companies that are used to using robotic keywords because voice inquiries are based on fluid phrases that reflect the way people actually speak.
If you want to gain points in the world of organic search, you have to give the search engines what they’re looking for. This, in turn, means catering to what your audience is ultimately looking for and how they’re looking for it. With that in mind, here are a few best practices that can help you boost your voice-search rankings this year and beyond.
How Does Voice Search Work?
Let’s start with the basics. Voice search is used when people ask their questions or give commands to their devices by talking to them. In turn, the device searches the internet on the person’s behalf and fulfills the command or answers the question.
How Do You Appear in Voice Search?
Since voice searches rely on natural conversation patterns, you can no longer stick to clunky keywords because that’s not how people speak in real life. Instead, target long-tail keyword phrases that are more specific and less common than other keywords. The following voice-search optimization tactics can also help you rank better:
- Optimize for rich answers
- Re-imagine and restructuring your content
- Use conversational language
- Improve loading time on your website
- Ensure mobile-friendliness of your site
- Leverage Google My Business listings
How is Voice Search Changing SEO?
When voice search overtakes text search — which is only a matter of time, given that voice search has seen an exponential surge in use in just the past few years — only one search result will matter. If that’s not you, you’re automatically going to be losing out on the attention of that potential audience. This means you should be doing a few things to catch the eye of the search engines:
- Always aim for Google’s featured snippet. A study found that, 40.7% of all voice search results came from a featured snippet. As consumers’ use of the internet has changed and evolved, this number has undoubtedly only increased.
- Create and polish your Google Business Profile. Your Google Business Profile account is a key way to let Google know who you are, what you’re all about, and where your target audience can find you.
- Transform queries into questions. Instead of using a word like “electrician” as a keyword, use something a voice searcher would actually say when they’re talking to their smart device, such as “Where can I find an electrician near me?” The same goes for the content that’s on your website. It’s a good idea to offer an FAQ page, where you can easily create question-and-answer content that can facilitate being found during voice searches.
Voice search optimization is a relatively untapped field in the realm of digital marketing. One study found that the majority of the top-50 eCommerce brands have not yet optimized their platforms for voice search assistants like Alexa or Google Home. In fact, only 8% of these companies have leveraged an Alexa skill, and only 14% have developed Google Home action as of this writing.
Nevertheless, many experts estimate that voice search queries will reach a volume of 200 billion per month. This statistic indicates that right now is the perfect time for companies with an online presence to establish a firm foothold in the voice search market.
Still, one vital question remains: how can companies effectively measure success for voice search?
One Method of Measuring Voice Search Effectiveness
While there are a few different ways to measure the success of voice search optimization efforts with some degree of accuracy, perhaps the most straightforward and intuitive approach would be to "reverse-engineer" Google search queries and/or PPC queries. Within the dataset that encompasses your targeted topic, there is inevitably a subset of queries that are question-based. Logically, a large proportion of these question-based queries would be sourced from voice search technology.
For instance, shorter keyword phrases like "pizza restaurant," "pizzeria," or "pizza near me" are often indicators of a typed search query. In contrast, long-tail phrases in question form, such as "Where is pizza close to me?" or "What is the nearest pizza restaurant in my area?" typically indicate spoken search commands.
Extrapolating such probable voice-based search queries from the larger pool of information that Google provides can give your company some vital insights into the most effective phrases and terminology to use in the following areas:
- Content Marketing: Content that is optimized to be voice search responsive can help you to establish a strong presence around a specific set of search terms. If these search terms are associated with a relatively small niche in the marketplace, then you may even win a coveted "featured snippet" from Google sooner rather than later.
- Title tags: Voice search optimized title tags will help Google crawlers to identify your pages as top results for specific queries.
- Google Business Profile: A significant proportion of voice-based queries (approximately 22%, according to some research) involve geographic proximity. Incorporating location-specific terminology into your website's Google Business listing can help drive a higher percentage of local traffic to your company. Even a simple phrase like "marketing agency near me" can have a substantial effect on your site's performance.
After optimizing these and other content pieces for voice search, detailed analytics tools can assist in tracking impact across several metrics, such as engagement, conversion rate, bounce rate, and so forth.
Of course, this is just a high-level view of one way to measure the success of voice search optimization. At Zero Gravity Marketing, we take a deep dive into the technical aspects of a winning SEO strategy for each one of our clients. We are an industry leader in all things digital marketing, including the creation, implementation, and analysis of voice search optimized content.
For other tips on how to do voice search optimization and would like to learn more about the services that we offer, reach out to us today.
Daniel Hamilton
