Author: Darris Upchurch
November 3rd, 2023
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“Alexa, what businesses are killing it in terms of their digital marketing?”
“Siri, how can I ace marketing my business on all the right digital platforms?”
Have you ever thought about asking your voice assistant questions like these? Much less, expected to get any real answers? Getting answers to conversationally-worded search questions like this is actually much more realistic – and more achievable – than you may realize. If your target audience could actually find you when asking this sort of question through voice search, what could that do for your business?
That’s why you need to start taking advantage of Voice Search Optimization.
Voice Search Optimization uses the power of voice to conduct focused internet searches. You can ask your voice search assistant practically any sort of question, and it will then perform the needed research for you, in order to provide the answer you’re looking for!
Voice search options continue to become more and more popular among today’s internet searchers, primarily because voice search is so incredibly easy to use. This hands-free technology eliminates the hassle of having to input your search questions by hand, and it really saves you a ton of time.
These statistics give us a glimpse, not just of how important these hands-free technologies are presently, but how important they will continue to become going forward. That’s why you need to be leveraging them for your business now.
As time progresses, so does technology. No matter what business you’re in, it’s a constant struggle to keep up with certain developments and advances. However, choosing to incorporate the latest technology for the benefit of your business helps to ensure that you’re always at the top of your game.
And it’s especially important to stay up-to-date with the latest technology if you really want to excel at marketing your business digitally!
Voice search created quite a buzz when it first appeared. But, why is it now so integral to doing business online?
The reason is simple: voice search has a significant impact on local seo. Since SEO is absolutely crucial to any digital marketing efforts, voice search is something you really shouldn’t ignore.
Here are some reasons why Voice Search Optimization continues to gain popularity among today’s consumers:
Voice search is incredibly easy to use, but that doesn’t mean that voice search optimization won’t require some effort on your part. There are some things you’ll need to do on the front end, to make sure that your business is as visible as possible. And that’s where voice search optimization comes in.
Here’s how you can structure your content to make it more accessible through voice search on Google and other platforms:
You should use common, everyday language on your webpage; don’t try to make your text sound pompous or ostentatious. For that matter, if you’re using words like “pompous” or “ostentatious” in your content now, go ahead and make plans to remove them. Complicated, more obscure words like these make it harder for a voice search protocol to find your website. Why? Because search engines operate in terms of volume and commonality. They focus more on common data, current location, demographics, and commonly-used verbiage to help trace and identify the context of the searcher’s question.
Simply put, voice recognition technology is based around the most “normal,” natural form of language. And that language takes a more conversational tone. Using more accessible language like this makes it more likely for you to land a first-time customer, and also helps you to make more repeat customers.
Unlike typed queries, voice searches are often longer and more specific. This means that your content needs to contain more of what’s known as long-tail keywords, versus the traditionally-used shorter terms. For example, if you sell soap, it would be better to advertise “handmade, organic goat’s milk soap,” rather than simply offering “handmade soap.”
Using long-tail keywords will make your business stand out in voice searches. Most websites overlook the value of these longer keywords and phrases, and just stick to using the shorter terms that are more common to typed searches.
And besides adding value for voice searche optimization, the descriptive nature of long-tail keywords also makes them great for grabbing the attention of your searchers and browsers. Remember, the more intentional and specific you are with your content creation, the more likely you are to be able to include multiple sought-after keywords in a single phrase.
Whenever we ask questions, we begin by using words like “who,” “why,” “what,” “where,” and “how.” These interrogatory words are almost always present when posing a question conversationally. However, we’re less likely to use these words when actually typing something into a search bar. But if you’re intentional to include these interrogatory terms, your website will be more likely to pop up in voice searches, too.
Focusing on question words like these is a great way to build a top-notch FAQs page for your website, too. It also pays for you to pay attention to which questions your customers tend to ask in their voice searches, as well. Once you have that data in hand, you can better tweak the content on your website to your advantage.
When you are designing the content for your webpage, focus on the featured snippets that Google provides, too. This will help you better hone in on the information you need to include, and will also help you to cut down on irrelevant content.
Schema simply refers to the markup language you use for the backend of your website. It provides greater scope for explaining what you mean by the use of certain terms or phrases. This detailed information will help a search engine to rank your web pages better, as you’re providing more exhaustive data pieces for the benefit of a search query.
Using the right schemas and markups will help add to your site’s visibility, and can also give you a real online marketing edge over your competition.
My Business Listings by Google provide a snapshot of all the relevant information about your business that anyone conducting a search might need to know. This includes your business’s location, hours of operation, and contact information. Plus, the more recent and updated your information is, the more customer interaction you’re likely to get. This is especially true for any “near me” searches.
The upsurge of voice search technology usage has drastically increased the volume of local searches, which also makes it vital for all your details to be up-to-date.
You also should make sure to include your correct address and contact information on your website itself; this also plays an important role in helping customers to find your business. Keeping your website content and information up-to-date ultimately helps you to rank higher in Google searches, too.
Voice searches primarily happen on mobile devices, so it perhaps goes without saying that your website should perform just as well on a smartphone as it does on a computer. The best way to achieve that is to consider what your website content will actually look like in each format.
A large portion of voice searches are location-based searches. Which means that if someone is using their phone to find something local, you’ll want to make sure that your website is easily accessible, easy to navigate, and mobile-responsive.
Now that you get how important it is to have a mobile-friendly website, what should you bear in mind when creating webpages?
Here’s some helpful information from Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai: one out of every five searches on Android is a voice search (those numbers are even higher for Apple devices). If you aren’t using Voice Search Optimization, you could be losing 20% (or more) of your potential business! Using Voice Search Optimization could help you to really capitalize on those opportunities.
While the impacts of voice technology are still being studied, there are a few clear trends that have emerged. One of them is the fact that voice searches lead to increased website traffic.
In 2018, PwC stated that 71% of consumers preferred voice searching over other forms of typed searches.
If you’ve optimized your content well, then more and more people will be redirected to your page. And the better your optimization, the more likely that your business will appear at the top of the search page, and also get a bonus featured snippet.
Succeeding in business is all about maintaining relevance. Voice search optimization is a proven way to help your business stay more relevant with your target audience.
Enhancing your connection with your customers is an ongoing goal. If you can provide a more personalized experience for your consumers, that can help you to establish a longer-lasting bond. And this can help lead to better consumer loyalty and more repeat business.
Voice search optimization enables you to offer a tailored experience for each individual user. Tools like Google Assistant and Alexa are able to differentiate between voices, which also allows you to gather customer information which is unique to each individual. With this information, you can also cater to individuals’ specific needs, thus enhancing their experience.
Most folks don’t have the time – or the patience – to conduct research about businesses “the long way.” Voice assistants have come along to come to the rescue. Whatever you need to find is now at your disposal, by simply saying the word!
Many major manufacturers have even started incorporating voice assistants into their own branded products, in order to provide a better customer experience. For instance, Whirlpool collaborated with Amazon to design their own line of signature voice-activated home appliances, like washers and dryers. This led to better ease of use, greater functionality, and heightened customer enjoyment.
Ideally, you want your customers to stay with you forever, right? Well, that’s only possible when you’re consistent about ensuring that no competitor is offering your customers more than you can deliver yourself.
If your competitors are using a voice assistant – and you’re not – then they’re probably stealing some of your business. But since Voice Search Optimization is a fairly recent development, chances are good that it hasn’t been adopted by many of your competitors. So by taking full advantage of this technology now, you’re likely to get a good leg up on your competition!
Just like any other new technology, voice search optimization is still far from perfect. It’s still a relatively new technology in terms of business applications, so there are still a few kinks to work out here and there:
Voice Search Optimization is a relatively new technology that will just continue to become more prevalent as time goes on. If you really expect your business to grow – or to continue growing – then you really shouldn’t avoid the adoption of this technology. It’s closely linked with SEO practices, so incorporating voice search optimization now really just gives you a better shot at engaging your customers, and at becoming more visible online.
Got questions about Voice Search Optimization? The Cibirix team has answers! We can help you to take maximum advantage of voice search optimization, for the ultimate good of your business. Connect with us today!
Amrita is one of the professional SEO analyst for the Cibirix marketing team. She applies her in-depth knowledge and experience to help boost website rankings for both our B2B and B2C business clients, ultimately producing more traffic for their sites. She is intentional about creating an individualized link-building strategy that’s not just creative, but ethical as well – she’s always careful not to violate any of Google’s SEO policies. Amrita believes in building links which will elevate our clients’ respective brands both effectively and sustainably. During her spare time between SEO projects, Amrita loves to read books and follow blogs related to nutrition and yoga.
