Search engine optimization (SEO) is a perpetually changing factor when it comes to search engine ranking for your business. Shifts in optimization best practices happen. One rising shift is set to disrupt SEO conventions. The age of voice search is upon us.
What does this disruption look like? Traditional text search queries are transcending to voice search. This is due to innovative products and software that utilize voice to better meet consumer needs, as in the case of smart home devices.
Businesses can take advantage of SEO shifts like voice search to gain a competitive edge. This is especially valuable for businesses in highly competitive industries. Did you know that almost 50 percent of consumers are using voice web search?
You should certainly continue using traditional SEO tactics. But begin implementing voice search optimization strategies for a more well-rounded, long-term optimization approach.
Let’s take a deeper look into the undeniable relationship voice search has on SEO, and how you can leverage voice search for your business.
Impacts Of Voice Search On SEO
It is pretty clear that voice is having a significant impact on technology. From Microsoft Cortana and Amazon Echo to Internet of Things (IoT) tech devices like smart TVs, voice is playing a larger role in consumer products than ever before.
Adobe’s Voice Technology Study found that 44 percent of people use voice search daily across multiple devices.
What is the impact on SEO? Optimization is changing, and as voice search matures, SEO will also change.
Voice Search Emphasizes Natural Language Use
This is certainly a shift in SEO strategy. To leverage voice search in SEO and digital marketing, you will need to implement more natural language. This is because voice recognition systems and voice technology understands daily language use via questions and commands.
For instance, developing content in question form can give you a leg up when it comes to voice search optimization. What if you voice query, “What is SEO?” The query results will deliver content that has the question first.
And if you want content ideas to maximize voice search optimization when it comes to natural language, draw from Google’s “People also ask” box.
You can also use online platforms like AnswerThePublic to find question-minded content ideas.
Take a conversational tone when optimizing for voice. This is a shift in SEO that is easy to implement within your optimization strategy.
Long-Tail Keywords Are More Important
Keywords have always been critical to optimizing digital content. Using keywords is a standard SEO practice that will not be going away anytime soon. Keyword use has had a few shifts over time.
In “anything goes” days of SEO, the more keywords on-page, the higher ranking your content will get via search engines like Google. This was known as keyword stuffing. Those days have come and gone, replaced with more subtle keyword strategies.
Keywords in SEO terms have shifted again with the rise of voice search. Long-tail keywords are taking precedence over single keywords in the voice search era.
For instance, you want to optimize your patio furniture content for voice search in Houston. What lengthy keyword phrase would make sense for voice? This blog post used, “Patio Furniture Houston?”
This longer keyword phrase is definitely a natural language phrase a consumer looking for patio furniture in the Houston area would voice search via Google or their smartphone. And the search volume is great.
This voice search long-form keyword phrase has 350 monthly searches, a low difficulty score to rank high on Google SERPs, and when done right, can save a lot of money on Google ads.
Voice Search Triggers Intended Meaning Via Semantic Search
Semantic search will find a user’s intended meaning via the terms used within the voice search query. This eliminates the on-to-one keyword match found in traditional lexical searches.
How does semantic search work exactly? Semantic search is often achieved using a user’s search history, location, keyword variation, and global search history. When it comes to Google and semantic search, RankBrain assists using artificial intelligence (AI).
For example, a person who is located in Michigan that simply voice searches, “Ford dealerships,” will get local results first.
RankBrain attempts to understand the user’s intent based on past and present search history.
Mastering Voice Search For Your Business
The undeniable relationship voice search has on SEO is hard to avoid. As more innovative voice products come to market, the more consumers will rely on voice to find answers, products, tips, and more. And voice search will impact all industries and niches.
There is no hiding from voice. The good news is that you can begin implementing voice search optimization strategies for long-term search ranking stability. Here’s how you can adapt your business for voice:
- Google Voice makes speed a priority. It is essential to have your web pages optimized for fast loading. SEO best practices like optimized images and mobile-friendly responsive sites.
- Long-tail keywords are a must. Use long-tail keyword phrases to unlock voice search optimization. You can find long-tail keywords using Google’s Keyword Planner.
- Leverage Google’s featured snippets. By creating content that answers questions, or provides a detailed summary in bullet point or numbered-list form can increase your chances of earning a Google featured snippet, as well as ranking at the top for voice search.
- Make your business local. Google My Business and adding local listing information to your website and other content assets can increase semantic search capabilities for Google RankBrain.
- Build better domain authority. Even in voice search domain authority is critical. Earning more high-quality backlinks from multiple high authority referring domains can improve your overall domain authority, thus boosting your rankings in Google SERPs.
Wrapping Up . . .
Voice search is set to disrupt SEO in a number of ways. As more products rely on voice commands and/or have voice search enabled, only businesses with voice optimized content will outpace the competition. Make voice part of your SEO strategy today, and build long-term value tomorrow.
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