By 2020 research suggests half of all internet searches will be made by voice search. Voice search requires the user to speak into a device such as an assistant appliance, phone or increasingly a desktop computer to perform a search. A voice search is easier and quicker than typing. You receive a top search result straight back eliminating a need to scroll and therefore is seen as more convenient.
Changing your SEO content to provide for voice search could lead to more web traffic and an improved user experience. We’ve put together a few tips to help get your website optimized for this upward trend.
First consider the type of search voice users make. They are inclined to be question based and longer phrases than those that would be typed in. They also have more specific search phrases with intent. For example "Offices for sale in Biggleswade” has more intent for a purchase than a search for “Biggleswade offices”. Therefore include long tail keywords (a 3 or 4 word phrase that is specific to your business) in your content and try to word it as a response to a question. Internal links are way to incorporate these keywords.
FAQ pages work well with voice search; just make sure the information provided is not too complex because voice search results have a tendency to be at a simple to understand level, and use a conversational tone.
Next let us look at where a voice search result reads out information from. They are the Snippets, which are the part of text google displays in a box as the answer to a search query. These Snippets are taken from a webpage so it’s a good idea to go back over existing snippets in blog pieces etc. and edit them to contain more keyword phrases.
A considerable amount of voice requests are ‘Near me’ searches so it’s vital to make sure your local listings information is correct. Aim to add geographic information such as your town or city to your content.
Lastly webpage speed is very important as google rank fast loading pages highest and ensure your site is mobile friendly as this is where the majority of voice searches are made.