Voice search extends far beyond the home, and people are taking this technology with them on the go. Long gone is the time when mobile devices served only for calling, texting, and scrolling through Facebook. Nowadays, we also use them to find out the information we need about businesses around us, and this is the primary use of voice recognition technology.
Logically, this greatly affects small local businesses, so we prepared this article to introduce you to this technology, discover how it can affect your business, and help you optimize your website for voice search. If you’re still unsure how to do it yourself after you’ve read this article, make sure you contact the best SEO companies that will do it for you
Photo by Andres Urena on Unsplash
What is Voice Search?
Voice search is a function that allows users to search the Internet through spoken voice commands rather than typing. It includes open-domain keyword queries on any information on the Internet, such as Google Voice Search, Siri, and Cortana.
Google Voice Search
We can use Google Voice Search on both mobile and desktop searches. In some cases, users need to say a ‘’wake’’ phrase for Google to analyze what the user says. We can do this via voice command on some operating systems and devices, or by clicking or tapping on the microphone icon to the right of the main Google search field.
There’s little difference between voice search and typed search query, other than how users activate and use voice search commands. Users are taken to a search engine results page whether they speak or type their query, with few exceptions.
For instance, users searching for directions using a smartphone may see a different SERP than a desktop user searching for the same information. However, more often than not, voice search queries show similar, if not identical, results as typed queries. It’s just easier to speak than type it.
Voice Search is Growing in Popularity
Voice search has grown steadily since its introduction, and it keeps growing. There are several reasons for the growth of popularity of voice search technology, the main being the ease of use compared to typing. Call functions and navigational queries have been the most common uses of voice search. However, we’ll likely see much more spoken search queries in general.
Nowadays, we don’t hear much about it because everyone is used to it. Nevertheless, there are many opportunities for you as a local marketer to leverage voice search for your local business clients.
Many businesses still haven’t optimized their websites for voice search. If yours is one of them, you may want to take your chance and do it. It’s an easy marketing strategy with few adjustments that can reap valuable rewards.
What are People Using Voice Search for?
Generally, the usage of voice search depends on a person’s age. Adults often use it to get directions, which makes perfect sense considering traffic laws. Also, it’s much safer to use hands-free voice search while driving.
In addition, there are many other common uses for voice search, such as dictating text messages, utilizing call functions, playing media, and checking the time.
Local and ‘Near Me’ Searches
Considering that the top uses for voice recognition technology are navigational queries and call functions, it’s easy to see why local and ‘near me’ searches are crucial for local businesses.
We can ask Google to find what we’re looking for, whether it’s a store, a restaurant, a museum, etc. Moreover, we can find out valuable information such as opening hours and parking availability.
A 2018 BrightLocal survey showed that:
- 46% of voice search users looked for a local business daily
- 74% of voice search users looked for local businesses weekly
- 50% of people used voice search to find local businesses over the past year
That was nearly three years ago, and voice search has only grown since then. Does your business show up for these potential customers?
There are three types of voice search queries - discovery, direct, and knowledge searches. Discovery searches are when people are looking for types of local businesses, whereas indirect searches, people ask for information about a specific local business. Finally, knowledge searches may not have a local business aim. However, local businesses can create information that answers the questions.
Discovery searches are valuable for finding new customers. Direct searches, however, are usually more valuable since those customers want to do business or interact with you at that precise moment. Knowledge searches can lead to potential customers reaching out to you for your prowess in a particular subject.
Natural Language Processing and People-Based Marketing
To help businesses surface for voice search queries, we need to align the long-tail keywords with the intent on a website. Also, we need to use natural language for voice search optimization, which is writing in a way that consumers speak.
The emergence of heavily personalized browsing is one of the most noticeable changes in recent years. Google developed this by combining its various services and products into a user profile system that allows Google to provide its users with an individualized browsing experience.
This led to people-based marketing. People-based marketing is a marketing methodology that lets advertisers target users based on who they are, rather than purely on their behavior. Soon, we could see a shift towards progressively personalized marketing based not only on our shopping preferences and browsing history, but also on our voices.
Google voice search and technologies alike learn to recognize keywords and voice commands through natural language processing. Therefore, over time, Google learns the way we speak and the unique characteristics of our voices along with our browsing interests, behavior, and other personal information. This, in turn, allows Google to provide tailored search results.
Optimize Your Website for Voice Search
Read on to discover how to optimize your website for voice search to rank high in search results.
Photo by Oleg Magni on Unsplash
Make Your Website Mobile Friendly
Considering that the use of voice search is prevalent on mobile devices, it’s crucial to optimize your website to be mobile-friendly. First, you need to make sure that it has a design responsive to mobile screens. Also, optimize the content for smaller screens and the ‘’fat finger’’.
Further, ensure that your website speed isn't obstructed by content that takes long to load or large images. The website content should load in no more than two seconds.
Also, if your website has one version that’s specifically designed for desktops or large screens and another one suited for any screen, then your content needs to be identical on both.
Consider User Intent
Considering user intent is crucial when structuring your website and content. The easiest way to do this is to answer the questions users might ask. The first step is to ensure that crucial information, such as opening hours or addresses, is available on your website. Chances are higher to show up in search results if you make it easier for Google to analyze your content.
Use Schema Metadata
Schema is a markup language that allows site owners to supply search engines with additional information about the information on their site. It lets you describe what the data on your website means. This addition helps Google boost your visibility.
Schema is one of the most powerful SEO practices, and by applying schema markup to your website, you’ll be paving the way for some serious progress.
Target Long-Tail Keywords
The natures of search queries differ when they are typed out compared to when we speak them. Spoken voice searches are often conversational and reflect everyday speech. By targeting long-tail conversational keywords and answering questions your potential customers may have, you have a good chance of appearing high in search results.
Update Your Google My Business Listing
The more up-to-date the information on your Google My Business listing is, the more valuable and effective your website will be to your potential customers. Information such as whether parking is available or whether the place is pet friendly can be persuasive, so ensure that your Google my Business listing is as comprehensive as possible.
Don’t forget to include images too! High-quality photos of your business may persuade hesitant customers to visit your place instead of a competition.
Capitalize on Online Business Reviews
If you were to run a voice search of the best Italian restaurants near you, you’d note that the ones that rank are restaurants with an average four-star rating or more. Logically, the more positive reviews the business has, the better its chances of appearing on voice search results.
To generate more reviews for your business, ask your customers to leave a review. Most people do it when asked. Also, ensure that the review generation process isn’t complicated.
In addition, you can add a local review schema to your website. This way, you help search engine crawlers to understand your website information and display it on SERP as snippets on the local 3-pack. Voice search results often use this information to find the most relevant search results.
Final Thoughts
One thing is sure - voice recognition technology will only progress in the upcoming years, for example, with the advancement of speech analytics software, and it will greatly affect the way people look for what they need. Therefore, if you want your business to thrive, you need to be well-informed about the changes in this technology and align your SEO practices with them.
Good Luck!
