Image source: Kārlis Dambrāns via Flickr
As voice search explodes in popularity, it’s changing SEO and website content best practices. More people search the internet with voice search on their smartphones, tablets or and smart home devices that feature digital assistants like Siri, Cortana, Alexa and Google Assistant.
Improvements in voice recognition technology and proliferation of mobile phones have spurred the increase in voice search. People find that it’s easier to search the internet by speaking than entering text on phones.
Perceptive SEO experts are learning how to adapt to the trend. SEO pros surveyed by Alameda Internet Marketing named voice search as the third most important SEO trend. Voice search will also impact PR and marketing professionals, who typically create website copy.
Voice Search Differs from Text Search
“While the impact of voice search on SEO is still evolving, we do know that optimizing for voice search is very different compared to traditional search,” writes Amine Bentahar, chief operating and digital officer and partner at Advantix Digital, for Forbes.
Voice search is more conversational than text search. It’s typically performed on mobile devices, is usually locally focused, and search queries are typically longer.
Sherry Bonelli, SEO expert at BrightLocal, offered these voice search SEO tips, in a Search Engine Land Article.
- Claim and optimize your Google My Business Listing and make sure it’s up to date.
- Understand how your customers talk and ask questions verbally. Document and record the exact words they use when they talk to your customer service representatives.
- Add conversational words and phrases to your keywords.
- Create website content that emphasizes those longer, conversational search terms.
- Consider FAQ pages that focus on those long-tail conversational keyword phrases. Try to group common questions on the same page. Consider several different pages, which can help search engines find information on your site.
A Move to More Complex Website Content
“Keyword research is needed for how people like to phrase questions out loud, understanding the search terms consumers are likely to use,” Bentahar agrees. “No longer can you simply target a specific keyword, but content and websites need to be more complex, ready to answer the questions that your users have.”
Trying voice search yourself to understand how it works and what kinds of results it provides might be the best ways to adapt to the new trend, he says.
Consider the User Experience
Consider the user experience that is tied to the customers’ questions, advises Jason Tabeling at Search Engine Watch. If a consumer seeks a location of your organization, is your paid search experience still driving them to a product-driven landing page vs. the store locator page? If a consumer wants to know how to use your product, do you send them to how-to videos?
Try different strategies, he adds. If you think about your marketing programs as driving value in just one way — for instance, only in branding or direct response — consider them in a different light. The best marketers deliver value to consumers, and that value is not always a sale.
Bottom Line: Voice search is transforming SEO and online content practices. Keywords will become longer and more conversational, and website content will become more complex. PR and marketing pros, typically responsible for writing website copy, will be instrumental in helping their organization adjust to the practices.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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