Voice assistants, such as Google Home and Apple’s Siri are growing at a remarkable rate. These voice assistants are embedded into the daily life of hundreds of millions of people; whether it be asking Siri to set a time for 20 mins (as I do each night for my sons chicken nuggets) through to requesting information on nearby restaurants I am trying to book while driving to work.
As voice assistants advance, so must our digital strategies to be a part of this growing ecosystem. As such, the concept of voice search optimisation and optimising our websites to be utilised by voice assistants becomes worthy of our consideration.
In the article, we will look at the opportunity for your digital business to leverage voice search, while also discussing the broader considerations on how to optimise for voice search including a few actionable tips to get your voice search engine optimisation started.
What is the true opportunity size of voice based searches and voice assistants?
While I do not have any Australian statistics to hand, if we look at our big brother (America) - we see some particularly eye watering stats on just how much growth we can anticipate.
According to Insider Intelligence, as of 2022 there were 142 million people in the US (42.1% of the population) who will use a voice assistant. By 2026, it is predicted that at least half of US internet users will leverage a voice assistant in their day to day.
What is voice search engine optimisation?
In simple terms, voice search optimisation is about enhancing your online presence to have a higher propensity to appear in voice search queries by the major voice search engines.
The desired goal is to be top preference for voice assistants, and thus be read aloud to users who initiate the voice search on their device(s) - ultimately giving your brand, website or app additional exposure.
The primary digital assistants include Google Home (or Google Assistant), Sir (by Apple), Cortana (by Microsoft) and Amazon’s very own Alexa.
Why is voice search engine optimisation important?
The concept of voice search (or voice SEO) is fundamentally important as it’s another paradigm shift in the way we use technology, and if you run a digital business or sell a digital product, you want to be at the forefront of these advancements.
Users typically engage voice assistants in a non-traditional way (in that, it varies from how we typically search say Google). When we use voice assistants as consumers, we tend to use more conversational tones, longer sentences, or pose questions we want answered.
Voice search and voice search optimisation is in turn is the art of enhancing your website to better answer these conversational questions with more direct and relevant content.
Benefits of considering voice search engine optimisation
The benefits of voice search optimisation simply compliment your existing SEO strategy; which in a nut-shell is to provide accurate and timely answers to consumers queries. Help the user, help your business.
Specific ways that voice search engine optimisation can help your business include:
Voice search optimisation enhances your overall user experience
Voice search optimisation can greatly improve the overall user experience. By tailoring your content to match natural speech patterns and providing concise, relevant answers to voice queries, you create a more user-friendly website or application. This can lead to higher user satisfaction and engagement.
Voice search SEO helps increase traffic and potential conversions
Voice search optimisation can help boost your website's visibility in voice search results. When your content ranks well for voice queries, you can attract more organic traffic and potentially convert more users into customers. This can lead to increased revenue and business growth.
Voice SEO gives you competitive advantage
As voice search technology continues to evolve, staying ahead of the curve with voice search optimisation can give you a competitive edge. By adapting to emerging trends in voice search, you can establish your brand as a forward-thinking and user-focused entity in your industry.
Voice search optimisation (SEO) can boost your local SEO presence
Voice search is often used for local queries, such as "Find an Asian restaurant near me that has good reviews" or "Where is the nearest Bunnings?".
Optimising for voice search can help businesses with physical locations improve their local search visibility and attract nearby customers, driving foot traffic and sales.
Actionable voice SEO tips you can implement today
As experts in voice search optimisation, here is what we would suggest you consider to improve your voice SEO. Alternatively, you can reach out to us and discuss your needs.
Write natural language content
Craft your content to emulate everyday conversations. Utilise long-tail keywords and phrases that align with the way people naturally ask questions via voice search. Your content should provide clear, conversational answers to common queries.
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly
Ensure that your website is seamlessly responsive on mobile devices. Given that many voice searches occur on smartphones and tablets, a mobile-optimised site is essential for a positive user experience.
Use featured snippets and FAQs
Structure your content to land featured snippets in search results. Arrange your information in a way that directly addresses frequently asked questions concisely and informatively.
Focus on local SEO
Enhance your website for local searches by incorporating location-specific keywords and data. Make sure your Google My Business listing is claimed, verified, and contains accurate, up-to-date business information.
Leverage Schema Markup implementation
Apply schema markup to your website to offer structured data to search engines. This helps search engines better comprehend your content, increasing your chances of appearing in voice search results.
Engage in your own voice search testing
Actively evaluate your website's voice search functionality. Employ voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa to pose industry-related or content-related questions. This practice can pinpoint areas for refinement in your voice search optimisation strategy.
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