Introduction
Voice search is becoming more and more popular amongst searchers, hence optimising for voice is now key for search engine success. Voice search is used daily by over 50% of adults worldwide. You could be missing out on huge benefits if you disregard the popularity of voice search, especially with growing numbers of people owning digital assistants like Google Home or Amazon Alexa.
Luckily voice search optimisation isn't rocket science and it can enhance your current SEO strategy as well!
This article will act as your full guide to voice search optimisation in 2024. Discover what voice search optimisation is, the growing importance of voice search, and how to adapt your website to optimise for voice search.
What is Voice Search Optimisation
Voice search optimisation is making improvements to your website with a goal of getting your content service via voice search queries. It isn't too dissimilar from normal search engine optimisation (SEO), just instead of optimising for tradition search terms, instead it's focussed on the more conversational questions that people ask their digital assistants.
In short, VSO is a collection of tactics to get your content read aloud by a digital assistant. These digital assistants are growing in popularity, from Alexa and Google Home devices to Siri on your phone. Almost any digitally powered, voice activated system offers voice search now.
How Are Voice Search Queries Different?
If you've ever asked a question to Siri on your phone or to your Amazon Alexa, did you notice it was much different to how you'd type a question?
You likely spoke to your digital assistant as if it were a person stood in front of you. This is different to how most of us usually browse the internet on search engines. When typing, most people want to use a little energy as possible to get their point across.
For example, consider what you would type if you were looking for a local bakery. Probably something along the lines of 'bakery near me'. Whereas, when conversing with our digital assistants we are much more likely to speak in longer, more conversational form. If you were asking a person the same thing, you'd be more likely to say 'tell me where a close-by bakery is' or something along those lines.
This is how voice search queries are different. While traditional SEO practices tell us to target long-tail keywords, voice search optimisation goes even further. Think even more long-tail, long-er tail if you will!
Why is Voice Search Optimisation Important?
As mentioned earlier, more than 50% of adults are using voice search daily and the amount continues to grow. Luckily, most website owners haven't tapped into this search market yet, so it gives you an opportunity to be a trailblazer in this space.
This means that a lot of the keywords (or you could call them key-phrases) aren't as difficult to rank as traditional SEO keywords. Giving you the chance to be served by digital assistants all over the globe!
Voice search is also a more accessible way for people to browse the internet and ask questions. Not everyone has the capability to use a search engine or computer in a traditional way. So by optimising for voice search you are opening up your website to a whole new group of people who may not have otherwise found your content.
Benefits of VSO
On top of the fact that voice search is a rapidly growing market, there are other hidden benefits to optimising your website for voice search. For example:
- Improved visibility and brand awareness: Aside from just being a helpful source of information, being served by a digital assistant can grow your brand authority.
- Better user experience: VSO practices all help to improve user experience on-site and off-site, meaning a better impression made on your potential customers.
- Zero adverse affects on your website: Unlike some black-hat SEO tactics, voice search optimisation has absolutely no negative affects on your current website performance or experience.
- Boosts traditional SEO too: As mentioned before, a lot of these tactics are the same for traditional SEO, so you're getting double the benefits.
How to Optimise Your Website for Voice Search
Voice search optimisation isn't incredibly difficult, if you are able to implement SEO strategies then you won't struggle with VSO. Here are a few easy to implement tactics that can help get your website seen by voice searches.
Keyword Research for Voice Search
Keyword research, we all know it well! Finding keywords that relate to search terms that your ideal visitors are looking for. Well it's basically the same for voice search optimisation!
As discussed prior, when people use digital assistants for search they are much more likely to speak in a conversational tone. So instead of looking for 2-3 word long keywords, focus on longer questions and queries.
There's a range of tools you can use to find these type of keywords outside of just brain storming them yourself. We will list a few for you below:
Answer The Public
Answer The Public is a tool with both free and paid options. You basically input one of your root keywords and it will spit out a variety of questions that get searched around this keyword. These questions could be from traditional search or voice search. Find a few questions that you know your business would be a trustworthy source of knowledge and optimise your content accordingly.
For instance, if you are a tour guide in Melbourne then queries like 'What are the best sightseeing spots in Melbourne' would be great to target.
When you start to type something into Google have you ever noticed that the search engine offers you suggestions below? These are commonly searched queries! Make note of these any you can use tools later down the line to source whether the search volume is worth a new piece of content for!
SEMRush
SEMRush is a goldmine of SEO statistics and tools to help businesses with their campaigns. Their keyword magic tool can be a great help to look for questions to target for voice search optimised pieces of content.
Use the keyword magic tool, then hit the 'questions' tab. You'll be given a list of questions asked around your chosen keyword.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a great Chrome extension that, similar to SEMRush and Answer The Public, gives you insights and questions surrounding any keyword that you search. There are free and paid versions, however to access the 'questions' tab you will need to subscribe to the service.
Look at Current Rankings
Our next voice search optimisation tip is to take a look at what you are currently ranking for. Using either SEMRush, Google Search Console or another SEO tool, take a look at the search terms you are currently successfully ranking for on traditional search engines.
After you've sourced where you are already succeeding, find some long-tail keywords relating to your current rankings. Then you can optimise for these keywords too.
Search Engine Features
While there isn't currently a tool that can tell you how often your content is served by digital assistants, SERP Features, for example Featured Snippets, are a great sign of the likelihood that you are.
A Featured Snippet will be the first thing a digital assistant is likely to read out when posed a question that has one. If your article has a featured snippet then you could expect your content to be served by Google Home.
Consider Different Search Engines
With such a range of digital assistants out there, from Alexa to Siri, there's also a range of search engines used. For example, Microsoft Cortana uses Bing for it's voice activated search, where as Siri uses Google.
This means monitoring your rankings on both search engines is necessary to achieve holistic voice search success.
Write Targeted Content
Similar to traditional SEO efforts, you'll need to write targeted content that answers the questions you want to rank for.
Best practices for content that is voice search optimised are:
- Conversational tone: Digital assistants want to keep their responses feeling as natural as possible. Meaning they're likely to draw answers from more casual sounding sources.
- Concise: Keep your sentences short and concise, focus on getting your point across without long running on sentences.
- Add FAQs: A frequently asked question section is an extra space to optimise for voice search.
Follow all the other best practices for writing search engine optimised content and you'll be succeeding in no time.
Improve Technical SEO
Like search engines, these digital assistants will be scouring your page for the right bit of information to serve the users. By improving your technical SEO you make it easier for digital assistants and search engines to crawl your page and determine whether it's the correct thing to serve the end user.
Local SEO Optimisation
A lot of voice searches are linked with location, like the example earlier for instance, 'tell me where a close-by bakery is'. For this reason you will want to make sure your local SEO is up to scratch. This means having business listings on both Google and Bing to be optimised for all voice search devices.
Easy Readability
As mentioned earlier, readability is key for voice search optimisation. You want to aim for as easy a read as possible while still getting your point across in an interesting manner. This means try to avoid words with a large number of syllables, long running sentences, and paragraphs of more than 4-5 sentences.
There are many readability score tools online that you can use for free to test how readable your content is. Using tools like SEMRush you can even compare your readability with your competitors' scores.
On-Going Voice Search Optimisation Process
Like SEO, voice search optimisation is an on-going process. Voice search is rapidly transforming the way people interact with the internet. By optimising your website for voice search, you can gain a significant advantage over competitors who haven't adapted yet.
Remember, VSO is not a separate SEO strategy, but rather an extension of best practices you already use. By focusing on long-tail keywords, conversational language, mobile-friendliness, and local SEO, you'll not only improve your voice search ranking but also enhance your overall SEO performance.
As voice search continues to evolve, staying updated on the latest trends and user behaviour is crucial. Regularly review your voice search optimisation strategy and content to ensure it remains relevant and effective. By embracing voice search now, you can ensure your website is at the forefront of your industry.
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