Voice Search Optimization
As technology continues to evolve, so do the ways we search for information. With the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search has become an increasingly popular way for people to find what they need online. In fact, a 2019 survey found that 55% of households in the United States had a smart speaker, and that number is only continuing to grow.
So, as a website owner or digital marketer, it’s important to understand how to optimize your website for voice. In this article, we’ll cover the best practices for optimizing your website for voice search, including how to incorporate long-tail keywords, create conversational content, optimize for featured snippets, improve page speed and mobile optimization, and utilize structured data.
Understanding Voice Search
Before we dive into the best practices for optimizing your website for voice search, it’s important to understand what voice search is and how it works.
Simply put, voice search is a speech recognition technology that allows users to search the internet using their voice. This is done through devices such as smart speakers (e.g., Amazon Echo, Google Home), smartphones, and virtual assistants (e.g., Siri, Alexa).
When a user speaks a voice query, the device records the audio and sends it to a server for processing. The server then interprets the audio and returns a response to the user. This response could be in the form of a featured snippet, a text-based search result, or even an action taken by the device (e.g., playing music).
One of the key differences between voice search and traditional text-based search is the way users phrase their queries. With text-based search, users tend to type in short, concise phrases (e.g., “best coffee shops near me”). But with voice, users are more likely to use longer, more conversational queries (e.g., “What are the best coffee shops within walking distance of my location?”).
Benefits of Optimizing for Voice Search
There are several benefits to optimizing your website for voice search. Here are just a few:
Improved user experience
Voice search provides a faster, more convenient way for users to find what they’re looking for online. Instead of typing out a query, users can simply speak their request, making it easier to find information while on-the-go or doing other activities.
Increased traffic and engagement
By optimizing your website for voice search, you can increase your visibility in search results, leading to more traffic and engagement with your website.
Competitive advantage
As more and more users turn to voice search, it’s important to stay ahead of the competition by optimizing your website for voice search. By doing so, you can increase your chances of appearing in voice search results and staying ahead of your competitors.
Best Practices
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of optimizing for voice search, let’s dive into the best practices for doing so.
Long-Tail Keywords
One of the key differences between text-based search and voice search is the way users phrase their queries. With text-based search, users tend to use short, concise phrases. But with voice, users are more likely to use longer, more conversational queries.
That’s why it’s important to focus on long-tail keywords when optimizing your website for voice search. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that are less competitive and more likely to be used in conversational queries.
For example, let’s say you run a bakery and want to optimize your website for voice search. Instead of targeting a broad keyword like “bakery,” you might focus on more specific, long-tail keywords like “best bakery for croissants” or “where can I find a bakery with gluten-free options.”
To find long-tail keywords for your website, start by brainstorming phrases that people might use in conversational queries. You can also use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find long-tail keywords that are relevant to your business.
Once you’ve identified your target keywords, make sure to incorporate them naturally into your website content. This means using them in headlines, subheadings, and body copy in a way that sounds natural and conversational.
Conversational Content
When optimizing your website for voice search, it’s important to create content that sounds natural and conversational. This means using language that sounds like how people actually speak, rather than relying on technical jargon or overly promotional language.
For example, let’s say you run a travel website and want to optimize for voice search. Instead of creating content with titles like “The Best Travel Destinations in 2022,” you might focus on more conversational titles like “Where Should I Travel in 2022?” or “What Are the Best Hidden Gems to Visit?”
When creating your content, make sure to use language that’s easy to understand and doesn’t require a lot of prior knowledge. This will help ensure that your content is accessible to a wide range of users, regardless of their background or experience.
Featured Snippets
A featured snippet is a summary of an answer to a user’s query that’s displayed at the top of search results. When optimizing for voice search, it’s important to optimize your content for featured snippets, as these are often the results that voice assistants read aloud to users.
To optimize your content for featured snippets, start by identifying common questions that users might ask in your industry. For example, if you run a pet store, you might create content that answers questions like “What are the best foods to feed my cat?” or “How often should I take my dog to the vet?”
Once you’ve identified your target questions, make sure to include the answers in a way that’s easy for search engines to understand. This might mean using bullet points, tables, or other formats that make the information easy to scan and digest.
Page Speed and Mobile Optimization
Page speed and mobile optimization are important factors for all types of search, but they’re especially important for voice search. Because users often use voice while on-the-go or using a mobile device, it’s important to ensure that your website loads quickly and is easy to use on a mobile device.
To improve your page speed, start by using a tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify areas where your website could be optimized. This might include reducing the file size of images, using a content delivery network (CDN), or optimizing your code to reduce page load times.
When it comes to mobile optimization, make sure that your website is designed with mobile users in mind. This means using a responsive design that adjusts to different screen sizes, ensuring that buttons and links are easy to tap, and reducing the amount of scrolling that users need to do.
Utilize Structured Data
Structured data is a way of providing additional context to search engines about the content on your website. By using structured data, you can help search engines understand what your content is about and how it relates to other content on the web.
When optimizing your website for voice, utilizing structured data can help your content appear in rich snippets, which are visually enhanced search results that can include things like images, ratings, and other types of data.
To utilize structured data, start by adding schema markup to your website. Schema markup is a type of code that search engines use to better understand the content on your website. There are a variety of schema types available, including ones for things like events, recipes, and reviews.
For example, if you run a restaurant and want to optimize your website for voice search, you might use schema markup to indicate the types of food you serve, your hours of operation, and other relevant information. This will help search engines provide more accurate and relevant results to users who are searching for restaurants in your area.
Conclusion
As voice search continues to grow in popularity, it’s important for businesses to optimize their websites in order to stay ahead of the curve. By focusing on conversational keywords and content, optimizing for featured snippets, improving page speed and mobile optimization, and utilizing structured data, businesses can help ensure that their websites are well-suited for voice search.
It’s also important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies related to voice search, as this is a rapidly-evolving field. By staying ahead of the curve and being proactive in your approach to voice search optimization, you can help ensure that your business remains competitive in the years to come
