Tips For Voice Search SEO

Voice search SEO have come into the world, and one thing is for sure, SEO will never be the same again. In 2017, there were 33 million voice search devices in circulation, with 40% of adults using them every day. In fact, Google’s voice search tool received 35 times more search queries in 2016 compared to when it launched in 2008.

ComScore has predicted that by 2020, 50% of all searches will be via voice; and 30% of searches will take place without a screen.

A Few Tips For Voice Search SEO

Google’s webmaster John Mueller provided some tips on how to optimize content for Google Assistant in a recent Google Hangout. While optimization tips for voice search have been around since 2016, this is the first time Google has officially provided concrete tips to increase visibility. Additionally, Google provided official guides to publishers on how to make their content more visible in Google Assistant. The official moves from Google give us a clear indicator that voice search is an area of focus for them, and thus, it should be a focus for marketers as well.

Now with Siri, Google Assistant and Cortana, any smartphone user can physically ask their phone a question. This has also extended to the home, with the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home cropping up in houses across the world.

Tip 1: Figure Out What People Are Talking About

As with all things content marketing, voice search SEO optimization in 2018 hinges on understanding your audience. If you know what they’re searching for, you can identify where your content can answer their queries.

So how do you know if content will answer audience questions? Start here:

1. Gather a list of common FAQs from your sales team, to figure out what customers are asking at this stage.
2. Use tools like Answer the Public, BuzzSumo and Google suggested terms to identify queries related to your target keywords.
3. Memorise (or create, then memorise) user personas to understand customer values, wants and needs.
4. Understand the customer journey, so you know which different questions are likely to occur at each stage of the sales funnel (so you can target content appropriately).

Tip 2: Aim for Featured Snippets

Google Home and Google Assistant currently read out featured snippets when they answer voice search queries, so it makes sense that you aim for the elusive “position zero”.

Whilst there is no definitive answer as to how you gain that top spot, plenty of research has been undertaken to figure out how. The below works pretty well as a set of guidelines, and is worth bearing in mind when writing your content:

1. Answer Specific Questions: Use Answer the Public to find common questions on your chosen subject, and use that as a basis to create your copy. Include the question as an H2, and answer it in the body text directly below.
2. Answer Questions Concisely: You don’t want to use a load of jargon that people won’t understand. Google wants to feature the best answer, so make sure yours is clear and easily digestible. Answers in the form of lists have fared particularly well in featured snippets.
3. Write Engaging and Interesting Copy: 99.58% of featured snippets come from a page that ranks in the top 10. It goes without saying you should already be ensuring your page is well-optimized: your content should be engaging, your meta data optimized, and your internal and external link building game strong.

Remember: voice search SEO queries will be more conversational than written queries. Make sure this is reflected in your tone of voice, to help you climb the rankings.

Tip 3: Use Schema Markup And Submit A Sitemap

OK, this one is a little bit more complicated, but tap your IT people on the shoulder and make sure they help you out – it’s vitally important, but few people do this (which means it could be the differentiating factor between you and your competitors).

“Schema” is a standardised coding language that speaks to Google’s crawlers and helps them figure out what your page is about. It’s more accurate than plain HTML, and makes Google more confident in showing a schema-marked page as a top result (in certain instances).

Tip 4: Perfect Your Local SEO

39% of voice search users are looking for business information; so it’s never been a more important time to optimize your local SEO.

Ensure your Google My Business Page is up to date, with the correct address, contact details and opening hours listed.

After all, if a user is asking “where’s my nearest digital marketing company”, you want to ensure you’re in the top position (provided of course, you’re an actually digital marketing company !).

Tip 5: Improve Your Site Speed

Voice search SEO is almost exclusively used on mobile, and it goes without saying that your website should be mobile-optimized. If it’s not, then users will simply bounce back, which will harm your rankings. A page that takes five seconds to load is 90% more likely to suffer from bounce backs, compared to a page that loads in just one second.

Google found that bounce rates on mobile are 9.56% higher than on desktops. Mobile users – and especially those using voice search – are likely to be on-the-go, and won’t have time to hang about.

Omaha SEO Company

In 2018, you really can’t afford to discount the power of voice search. The market is set to be worth $601 million by 2019; and if you don’t start to optimize your website now, you’ll be missing out on a lot of traffic in the long term.

Your search for the best SEO company in Omaha ends here.  Having succeeded where the competition didn’t, we hope you agree our SEO services prove to be the more effective.  When it comes to getting websites ranked at the top of search engine results, Omaha SEO Company gets it right!  Our SEO agency is here to ensure your website is optimized to rank high on Google, and Bing, but our goal is top position. Exactly where the best most qualified traffic is. Give us a call for your FREE Consultation.