Voice search is critical to business sales: 50% of respondents to one survey from PwC stated that they used a voice assistant to make a purchase. An additional 25% said they would consider it in the future, and 39% shopped again with the same retailer.
Marketers and companies that take the time to optimize for voice search are more likely to gain users’ attention who are ready to buy.
Here are some ways to make sure your website is ready for the voice search revolution:
- Obtain A Featured Snippet
Featured Snippets are a powerful hack for search engines. Even those who rank in position 4 or 5 on an SERP can suddenly reach position 0 if they obtain the featured snippet.
For voice search, though, featured snippets are even more critical. There is no ranking slightly lower on the page with voice searches: either they answer with your web page or not.
According to an analysis of 10,000 Google Home results, 40.7% of voice search answers come directly from a Featured Snippet. To best position yourself to be featured in a snippet, answer your audience questions with all the essential details briefly.
- Ensure Your Content Is Present On All Data Sources
The more places that voice assistants can find your content, the more likely your business will show up in voice searches. Make sure your data and content are correct and present anywhere they might look for your business:
Wikipedia
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Yelp
Each voice assistant has different sources of information they typically rely on for answers. Yelp is especially critical for Siri, for example, as it uses Apple Maps data for local businesses, which relies on Yelp for much of their information.
Alexa uses Google search and Wikipedia to deliver information to users.
Maintain a presence across all potential data sources to ensure that users can find you no matter what device they choose to use.
- Give Brief Answers And In-Depth Content
As noted above, 29 words is the average answer for a voice search. It’s critical, then, that you both ask common questions in your content and answer them succinctly. It is also vital to aim for easier reading and write simply.
Aim for 6-8th grade reading level in your content to make it easy for users to understand when they need to comprehend quickly.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should sacrifice long-form content in the desire to succeed with voice search.
The average article word count for a voice search result is 2,312 words.
While devices want to pull the most useful information from your article that matches user intent, they also care that it comes from an authority on the subject.
Long-form content helps in part to establish your expertise and gives users the chance to go deeper if they choose to go more in-depth.
- Create Thorough FAQ Pages And How-To Articles
Search engines and voice assistants are most concerned with delivering the best content to suit their users’ needs.
As a marketer, then, your job is to make sure that your content fits that bill. Provide content that helps answer questions that users have for your industry.
Since most voice searches are phrased in the form of a question, lean into that type of content with a Frequently Asked Question page or FAQ section at the end of your articles.
According to the same research from Google Home mentioned above, voice search results come more from FAQ than desktops.
FAQ provides the perfect chance to implement the questions that your users are asking. You can naturally include their exact queries and provide helpful information that voice assistants want to use.
Also, create and expand your “how-to” articles to cater to voice search. Since users are more interested in actionable content, develop posts that will cater to them. An article with practical, brief steps will provide search engines with the content they need to give users.
- Emphasize Long-Tail Keywords
Keywords are the lifeblood of web searches. Whether for typed or voice searches, keywords will continue to play an essential role in how search engines will find information.
However, the type of keywords users want is dramatically changing. Long-tail, more natural-sounding keywords have exploded in popularity. By using more natural language, it’s not surprising that long-tail keywords and question keywords have grown in popularity.
Instead of using short and awkward keywords, consider the type of questions you encounter in your industry. Do thorough keyword research and create three to four-word keywords that relate to the questions you come up with.
- Think Local
Voice search enables users to ask hyper-local questions and is often utilized in that context. A 2019 study found that of those who have a smart speaker and use voice search weekly:
75% search local businesses
54% make food and drink reservations
35% book a beauty appointment
46% inquire about prices of certain products from local businesses.
Marketers and business owners need to take advantage of these hyper-local searches. If you have a local brick-and-mortar store, make sure its locations and XML sitemaps are readable to both readers and search engines.
Optimize “near me” searches so that searchers can find you when they ask questions related to your business, such as “what are some hair salons near me?” If you run a hair salon, you need to make sure you show up in their search.
Google Ads’ Location extension can help make your business more accessible, as well as Google Maps local search ads. Claim your Google My Business listing also to get more exposure.
On your website, keep basic information, such as your hours and location, in HTML instead of images. This will also make it easier and faster for Google to find.
Make sure all your information is up-to-date. Although it may seem basic to have accurate information on your website, many fail to do so. One study of almost 75,000 companies found that:
50% had the wrong hours listed.
Over 30% had website errors
Nearly 20% had the wrong street address
Almost 25% had errors related to their business name.
Voice search only gives one answer when users ask questions. If your information is wrong or conflicting, there is little context and less alternate options.
Make sure they get the right information every time.
- Optimize Loading Speed
Those using voice search are short on time and need answers quickly. If a website is taking too long to load, they will most likely move on to the next one.
In fact, the average voice search result page loads in 4.6 seconds. If your webpage is loading slowly or not optimized for mobile searches, users will simply move on to another page.
Some ways you can increase the speed of your website include:
Optimize image sizes on your website
Use website caching
Limit plugins
Use CDN
Find a web hosting platform with faster loading speeds and uptime
Don’t make users wait around with long loading times. Update your website’s architecture and load time to be as fast as possible to cater to voice searches.
- Don’t Neglect Schema Metadata
One of the most underutilized aspects of SEO is the schema, also known as markup language. It provides additional information to search engines that are crucial in showing up in voice searches.
While it’s a little bit more on the technical SEO side, your markup language is a good element to get familiar with.
Schema allows you to describe to search engines what the data on your website means. The easier you make it for search engines to understand your page and who it is best suited for, the more likely you will rank higher for typed searches and end up on voice searches.
Increase your visibility and get your content in front of the right eyes with an accurate schema.
- Secure Your Website
Google, as well as other search engines, care about the security of their users. They do not want to gain the reputation of sending searchers to websites with questionable quality. The more secure you make your website, the more comfortable voice assistants will be with sending inquirers to your website.
In particular, Google search prefers websites that are secured with HTTPS. One study found that 70.4% of voice search result pages are HTTPS. They want to bolster security, so promoting websites with HTTPS is one way they can do that.
If you can, migrate from HTTP to HTTPS. Also, make sure that your website is secure as possible, such as following safe data collection practices.
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