Voice search and SEO go together like popcorn and M&Ms: surprisingly well.
Yet, for two technologies as connected as they are, there has been surprisingly little written about the link between these two.
SEO has become a staple in the digital marketing industry over the course of the last decade.
And, with more users choosing mobile over desktop, the ease of inbuilt voice technology has made voice search invaluable.
Join us, today, as we take a look at SEO optimization, voice search, and where the two are set to meet each other in the next few years.
Get Better SEO, With Voice Search Optimization
Voice search functionality has changed the search engine landscape for users as well as website owners. With increased voice search traffic, content has to capitalize on the conversational tone of smart devices.
In SEO, creating “valuable” content is the name of the game, and has been for many years. With voice search becoming more popular, the concept of value will shift. Content has to answer questions in context, rather than content that hits certain keywords.
Valuable content will have a more conversational tone that answers questions directly. The idea of creating content around a specific keyword bucket will no longer exist. It’s about creating content for searcher intent. Search engines can interpret context so that content that answers a question and contains information about a topic will win.
Remember this, and keep it in mind at all times during your digital marketing: speak plainly.
No cheap tricks. Algorithms are more tailored towards the user. So, the best advice anybody can give you is to create something valuable that provides answers to questions your users might have.
Now, with that said, there are a few notes to follow to make sure you hit the search engine market the right way with your voice search:
- Master long-tail keywords: people are going to ask their voice search for things by using short phrases, not contextless keywords. Use tools and common sense to figure out the natural language people will use to search for your service. Use this information to funnel your marketing more effectively.
- Go local: mobile devices are more useful when they’re being used locally. This is a generalization, but the truth is, most people use smart devices to search for nearby things, on-the-go. Use phrases like “near me” in your meta tags to focus in on local searchers, and link off to nearby landmarks. This way, when people voice search “coffee houses near the library”, you’re high up on that result list.
- Stay mobile friendly: this is good advice for website marketing, in general, but especially for voice search optimization. A responsive website that is optimized for mobile devices and loads quickly is important to someone who’s so busy they need to do a voice search.
SEO, Voice Search, And The Future Of Internet Marketing
It’s hard to predict where any on-the-rise technology will go in the future.
All we can say for certain is that voice search features have become more meaningful to us as users. Less a neat party trick you can show off once after getting your new phone and never use again, and more something to use in your everyday living.
And with more people using this feature than ever before, getting your SEO in line can mean a dramatic increase in referrals from voice searches.