Modern technology is constantly being reinvented, and no industry is affected by this continuous revolution more than digital marketing. Digital marketing is all about attracting customers with modern communication methods, so whenever a new method is developed or an existing one is updated, the most effective marketing methods change. Few such developments have more potential to change marketing than the rise of voice search. In order to market effectively to local customers, your company must adapt to this new development.
Why Voice Search Matters
People tend to use different words and phrasings when speaking than when typing. As a result, the rise of voice search is changing which keywords and writing styles perform most effectively on search engines. Your company needs to adapt your marketing materials to these new SEO preferences; if you don’t, you’re likely to lose your search rank and fall off customers’ radar.
Voice search SEO is particularly important for companies that appeal to local customers who are trying to fulfill specific or sudden needs. Say you’re a hardware store, and most of your customers are homeowners who need to quickly fix something in their houses. Odds are the first thing they’ll do will be to ask Siri or Alexa something like “where can I get this part” or “what’s the best hardware store near me.” If you tailor your marketing content to those queries, you ensure that your company will be the first thing they see in their search results.
Understanding Voice Search Platforms
The two most common voice search platforms are Siri and Alexa, so you should have these two services in mind when writing voice search-ready SEO. Siri tends to prefer landing pages that load quickly, that are linked to social media pages, and that use mobile search terms. It will also give you a boost if you personalize your marketing content to the specific customers you’re targeting.
Because Alexa is linked to the online retailer Amazon, its search preferences are different than Siri’s. This service tends to put greater emphasis on products that are on sale or that come with some other sort of deal. It also pays close attention to filter fields for SEO and will reward you for defining your product as specifically as possible. It’s thus in your best interest to enter specific filter fields, hold frequent sales, and publicize those sales online.
Other Tips for Voice Search Success
Besides tailoring your marketing to the search platform, you can boost your search rank by:
- Using Organic SEO for Voice Search - Sites perform best when they contain natural, organic phrasings that people use when conducting a voice search. Such searches are usually performed in the form of a question, like “how can I find X near me.” The better you are at mastering organic SEO for voice search, the more readily your pages will come up.
- Switching to HTTPS- According to a recent study of Google voice search results, 4% of those results are HTTPS pages. This means you should use HTTPS pages for all of your company’s online content if you haven’t already.
- Keeping it Simple - On average, Google search results are a mere 29 words long. This suggests that using shorter, simpler titles and phrasings will boost your rank.
- Shortening the Pages - The average page to come up in a Google voice search result has just over 2,100 words. You should avoid publishing pages that are longer than this.
For more information on voice search SEO and other tips for local marketing in CT, take a look at Zero Gravity Marketing today. Reach out today!
Daniel Hamilton
