Voice Search basically means using your voice to search for things on the internet. Technology has taken a humongous leap when we consider what we have done with voice assistants like Google, Siri, Cortana and Alexa by incorporating the best of highly developed AI.
Voice Search has quietly grabbed a large chunk of the search market, is still booming and is predicted to have 50% of all searches on the internet by the end of 2020. Isn’t that great?
For the SEO peeps, yeah!
SEO specialists all over the world are trying to get into the game by optimising websites for voice search. But first we need to have a look at some of the use cases when it comes to using voice for search on your smartphone or any other gadget for that matter:
- Encountered something unusual? Search for a quick fact.
- How’s the weather today?
- Feel like grooving to your favourite playlist? Just ask for it!
- Want to be a responsible citizen? Drive safely and ask for directions while not taking hands off the wheel.
- Want to check on your loved ones? Just ask to make a phone call.
How does it impact SEO Rankings?
The first and foremost thing which we should take into consideration is that it would drastically improve the user experience since it is quite faster than traditional methods of searching for a particular query which is one of the main reasons why it is highly utilised.
Also, the motto of SEO is to rank websites perfectly so that users can find the best information for their search queries in a very precise and quick way. That’s why user experience is considered to be at the front-line of SEO.
Do note that voice search SEO and traditional SEO are different. So, some factors that affect SEO rankings may or may not have the same effect on voice search, and also vice versa.
If you are planning to inculcate a voice search SEO strategy, here are some tips to balance it out with your traditional SEO strategy –
Identifying the purpose of the search:
We should know why the user is searching for a particular keyword and what’s the end goal that they want to get out from this particular search. Mostly people use voice search for directions which tells us that we need to get ourselves listed on Google My Business so that they are aware of our location. Local directory listings also shouldn’t be missed out.
Website should be well optimised to load quickly:
Considering the perspective of the convenience of voice search, we get to know that a person mostly would prefer it because they are doing something else and wouldn’t want to waste time in typing a search query. They are in a rush and so we don’t want them to wait for our website to load. Also, Google loves websites that load quickly better than others hence, a way to push yourself up to the top spot.
Choose keywords based on how you would actually talk:
People aren’t going to type the search query in a proper phrased way all the time. Instead, they would type what comes to their mind at that instant. For example, a perfectly phrased search query would be “Digital Marketing Agency in Mumbai” but then, applying what we know about the voice search users, they will prefer, “What’s the best digital marketing agency near me?”. If people are using questions, it will benefit you as it opens up the opportunity to add question phrases into your content. So, if you have some complicated/detailed information, start breaking it down to as many questions as you can for making it easy for the audience to understand and relate.
Keep local searches as the focal point:
If you haven’t optimised your website for local search, then there are chances that you may lose quite a bit of potential audience as people generally use the “near me” as a term for finding the local restaurants, medical shops, etc. Also, acuminating on your location helps to give a boost to your ranking position against the competition.
Optimize your website to be user-friendly and mobile-friendly:
When we talk about convenience, smartphones are the most convenient of them all. I’m not talking about the flagship smartphones which have taken the role of computers with their SoCs touching speeds of up to a massive 3.1 GHz with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G platform, but the lower segment which has Google Voice Assistant at hand! With technology, convenience has been made available to everyone which is why your website should undergo that change too.
Conclusion:
You wouldn’t need much keywords to play with for voice search queries which means lesser and simpler SEO. It is still booming and it will continue to grow in popularity with teenagers being the larger chunk of the audience to use it on a daily basis. Just like we know how voice search will have 50% of all searches on the internet by the end of 2020, by 2022, voice-based shopping is expected to touch $40 billion. Voice search is the most natural way to search. Also, the algorithms have helped in understanding the natural intent of the consumers. Due to this, searching on the internet is getting closer day-by-day to the natural way in which human beings communicate. It is going to be a trend which introduces the way for us to be an early adopter.
Adopt and adapt to voice search!
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