SEO for voice search? Yes! Trends in marketing and business development advance and evolve rapidly, and now is the time of voice search. Stay ahead of the competition by implementing voice search optimization for your eCommerce business. Here’s how!
What is Voice Search Optimization?
Voice Search Optimization describes the process of optimizing your website to accommodate voice search technology. Its purpose is to be more compatible with increasingly popular virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana — also known as smart-speaker technologies.
Why Optimize eCommerce for Voice Search?
According to Statista, smart speaker technology manages revenues at 15.6 billion dollars in 2020. And the market revenue projections for 2025 are 35.5 billion dollars!
If your eCommerce is not optimized for voice search, you risk losing business to competitors who understand its power. Because trust us, many have already adjusted accordingly. The future of voice search is not dying out any time soon, so the time to act is now.
How to Implement Voice Search Optimization
We speak differently than we type. Think about it. Say you’re searching for a gift for your friend’s birthday. On your phone, you would probably type something like “gifts for men.” However, if you asked a person for suggestions, you might say something like, “Where can I find a birthday gift for a man that likes to read?”
See the difference? Digital search changed because people will often speak more precisely than they type, instead of using the keywords that would rank higher on search engines. This is why Google tailors its results according to phraseology nuances in the form of speech. Your SEO practices need to flex to incorporate these subtle-yet-powerful changes.
Let’s see another example, using three scenarios. If you Google (1) “get tacos,” (2) “how to find a good taco,” and (3) “where can I get a good taco?” you will likely see very different results. The first option nets an assortment of results from a popular taco chain to the Urban Dictionary to various lists of taco joints from different cities. The second is slightly more focused, yielding pages listing recipes and award-winning restaurants.
The third is the one that should pique your attention. This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to local SEO. And this is the type of natural language, conversational search phraseology that customers use when they run voice searches. If your business isn’t coming up on the first page on conversational searches targeting your niche, you just found your newest SEO goal.
Adjusting your SEO strategy
It is vital to continue with basic SEO practices. But it is also essential you start using long-tail keywords sensitive to phrases your customers might use on a spoken search request. Research your keywords, but rely on your understanding of your specific niche, as well.
Ask yourself, if you were asking Alexa about your product or service, how would you phrase it? Make sure your long-tail keywords are framed question-style to take advantage of consumers’ tendency to ask a question of a voice-based searching device literally (e.g., “where can I find a good taco around here”).
Google, Bing, and Yelp
Expanding on the idea that voice searches are longer and more specific than typed searches, Bing’s Christi Olson says that many users format voice searches as longer, more specific questions. Be sure you’re aware of the types of questions that customers would ask about your business or your products.
You should format your website to answer these specific questions. Also, incorporate more keywords to accommodate the format of an answer to a question. As of now, she says, most voice search queries lead to the FAQ pages of websites.
The Three Basics
Nate Evans from Yelp mentions that the future of search strategy involves making it as easy as possible for customers to obtain their desired results. Customers want to be able to say, “Make me a reservation with X for June 24th at 4 pm,” and be done with it.
Implementing voice search optimization now will give you an advantage for the employment of more advanced voice search techniques when they become readily available.
Remember to focus on three aspects. First, implement longer, more specific keywords into your SEO strategy. Second, optimize your website to answer particular consumer questions. Third, keep up with current trends and consistently update your voice search strategy to accommodate them.
It’s time to bet big on voice search, are you ready? We’re up to speed on the latest research around voice-based searches, and we can help you increase your sales dramatically. Contact us today!
