Voice search is a force to be reckoned with in the digital world. Whether it’s on a phone, laptop, or tablet device, voice search is a common feature used in lieu of typing. In fact, from 2008 to 2016 alone, voice has increased in usage by 35 times. 

Why is Voice Search So Popular?

You might be wondering, why is voice search so popular in the first place? Simply put, it makes our lives easier. Voice search is when you verbally ask or command your device to complete a task. A voice assistant such as Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa processes your vocal request and completes your query. 

Voice search has been proven to be helpful for saving: 

• Time: Did you know that voice search is 3.7 times faster than typing? In the everyday consumer’s busy and on-the-go lifestyles, anything that cuts on time is a sweet bonus. 
• Energy: Everyone gets sick of staring at their screens from time to time. With voice search, you don’t even need to be looking at a device to ask it a query. This allows you to interact with your devices safely when driving and commuting while simultaneously avoiding some of that unwanted screen-time. 

How Has Voice Search Changed SEO?

SEO, or the process of implementing techniques to rank highly on search engines, is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. Since voice search allows users to speak aloud their queries to search engines as opposed to typing them out, it is truly the catalyst for a new wave of SEO. 

Think about it: the way that we communicate through speech looks much different than how we communicate with written words. Because of this, the keywords, sentence structures, and types of content spoken out is different with voice search. 

Best Practices To Optimize For Voice Search

If you want to make your website’s presence known on a search engine’s first page of results, then optimizing for voice search is a necessity, not a choice. Optimizing for voice search is an easy process, and only takes a few tweaks and adjustments to see the traffic and engagement that you desire. 

Here are 6 simple tactics for optimizing your website for voice search: 

#1: Know Your Audience’s Needs

SEO for voice search starts with knowing your audience like the back of your hand. It seems obvious, but it is important to note that the characteristics that define your audience will greatly impact their voice search inquiries. Knowing these search terms will help you create content that appeals to their needs. 

Predicting your audience’s search terms starts with:

• Implementing demographic and psychographic research
• Understanding the unique vernacular and voice that accompanies your typical consumer

The better that you understand the goals, pain points, and questions of your audience, the better you’ll be able to anticipate the voice search queries that they conduct.  

#2: Long Tail Keywords Are Essential

At a few words in length, long-tail keywords are defined as the common phrases that your target consumers are likely searching for on Google. The beauty of long-tails is that they roll off of the tongue easily. This perfectly matches the conversational style that comes with voice search’s typical queries. Implementing long-tail keywords within your website’s copy will help it rank higher when consumers search with them. 

#3: Stick With A Natural Tone Of Voice 

When it comes to voice search, writing in a conversational voice is and always will be key. 

This is because when someone searches through voice, they are speaking off the cuff in an organic way as opposed to typing, which is usually more filtered and thought out. Not only this, but if a voice assistant like Google, Siri, or Alexa is reading your content back to users, the last thing you would want is for your content to sound robotic or dry. 

Write naturally on your website by:

• Writing in the same voice that you’d speak to your consumers

• Removing excessive keywords to prevent the risk of keyword stuffing
• Implementing conversational long-tail keywords in your copywriting
• Staying away from complex industry slang

#4: Consider On-The-Go Consumption

Were you aware that mobile users are 3x more likely to use their voice search features? 

As mentioned earlier, one of voice search’s biggest perks is its hands-free capabilities. This makes it easier than ever for consumers to gain information while multitasking on-the-go. 

Cleaning up your website for mobile optimization involves: 

• Keeping your content concise and to the point for easy skimming
• Organizing and structuring your mobile website with short paragraphs, bullet points, titles, and more.
• Ensuring that your website’s loading time is quick 

#5: Make Your Local Presence Known

Your digital footprint is just as important as your physical one, so make sure to always have your business’s local information easy to find on the internet. This is of the utmost importance when optimizing for voice search, since a hefty 22% of voice searches are location-based inquiries. To connect your website to your local audiences, make sure to: 

• Update your Google business listing to be as detailed as possible
• Make sure that all of your addresses, contact information, operation hours are up-to-date and accurate 

#6 Create A Solid FAQ Page

When consumers use voice search features, around 10% of their queries start with a question. Where can I find a veggie burger? How can I build my business’s website? Whatever the question might be, the words who, what, when, where, why, and how are commonly used while voice searching.

Providing the answers to the commonly searched questions on your website will boost your performance and get in front of the eyes of target audiences easily. Developing a well thought out FAQ page is a great place to start, especially when your questions integrate long-tail keywords. 

Voice Search Is Here To Stay

Voice search is most definitely here to stay, so what’s stopping you from capitalizing on the website rankings, traffic, and engagement that it can bring you today? With these tips in mind, your website is more prepared for this rising technology than ever before. 

---

Liz Slyman

Over the past decade, Liz has worked as a copywriter and digital marketing executive for a multitude of companies from startups to and mid-sized businesses to working as the VP of marketing for award-winning, platinum-selling artists. Leveraging an understanding of the nuance of language in marketing, Liz founded Amplihigher, a content marketing and copywriting agency, designed to connect consumers to companies in a way that results in next-level brand expansion.