Voice searches are more popular than ever, becoming a part of everyday life for people around the country. If we look at the global statistics, it is estimated that by 2026, the number of voice assistant users will reach 157.1 million. Voice search will continue to grow with more people purchasing voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. It’s time for businesses to focus on voice search optimisation to make sure they reach their audience.
Voice search is a technology that allows users to search using voice commands instead of typing. In order to leverage this technology, you must understand the unique dynamics of voice search algorithms.
Voice Search vs Traditional Search: What’s the Difference?
While all searches run in a similar manner, the user behaviour and how the users interact with search engines vary when it comes to voice search. Understanding these differences is essential to creating strategies for optimising for voice search and getting intended outcomes.
Traditional Search | Voice Search | |
Conversational Queries | Traditional searches often involve short or choppy phrases or keywords. Example: A traditional search might look like: “Best restaurants Mumbai” | Voice searches are more conversational and use natural language. Example: A voice search might sound like: “What are the best restaurants in Mumbai?” |
Search Intent | Traditional search queries may not include specific information. | Voice search queries are generally more specific and may also include information about distance and location. |
Table: Traditional Search vs Voice Search
Why Does Voice Search Optimisation Matter for SEO?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an essential part of marketing strategy, which increases the visibility of a website or a page. Studies show that about 130 million Indians use voice assistants for various purposes. The growing popularity of voice searches is one of the main reasons why businesses should focus on voice search optimisation.
Voice searches ordinarily encompass the searcher’s intent and information about specific locations and distances. Local businesses or the ones targeting local markets can employ voice search optimisation to improve their local SEO, making your content more visible to local customers. Let’s explore the fundamental framework of optimising for voice search.
Actionable Steps to Optimise Your Website for Voice Search
Optimising for voice search requires a carefully structured approach that supports spoken queries and their nuances.
Step 1: Voice-Specific Keyword Research
The keyword length is increasing, and voice-specific keywords are naturally lengthy because of their conversational nature, reflecting how we speak. When identifying keywords for voice search, make this tone the anchor. Adding question words like who, what, where, when, why, and how to your keyword list can assist you align with the user intent.
Give thought to phrases or questions a person might say to or ask a friend and find natural language keywords. Long phrases and questions are common in voice searches, making long-tail keywords and question words vitally important voice search ranking factors. For example, use queries like “What are the best SEO tools for small businesses?” instead of “SEO tools.”
Step 2: Optimise Your Long-Form Content
Another great way to go about voice search optimisation is to optimise longer articles and pages. These content pieces provide your audience with an in-depth understanding of your business. It allows you to answer various queries your audience might ask through voice search. Long-form content may contain information from various topics relevant to your industry and business. Hence, your website becomes more likely to appear at the top of voice search results.
Optimised long-form content presents another opportunity to earn featured snippets, which helps in boosting your online visibility. Featured snippets are the quick results or brief descriptions that Google extracts and presents at the top of organic search results, typically in a box. You can offer precise information for user queries to achieve this coveted position.
Step 3: Implement Structured Data for Voice Search
You must have noticed that whenever you ask your smart device a query like “What’s the capital of India?,” it would most likely answer with “New Delhi.” How did search engines do that? They use structured data to find and present precise results that are contextually relevant to the query.
Structured data, or schema markup, is a code that is embedded in your website. It helps search engines understand your content and extract specific information from the content. Applying schema markup for FAQs, in particular, can be beneficial when it comes to optimising for voice search.
People looking for businesses in their area expect to get some specific information related to the business. These primarily include contact information, location, and business hours. Implementing schema markup for these helps search engines like Google to understand this information and categorise accordingly.
Step 4: Establish Your Google Business Profile for Local Results
If you have a local business, it’s imperative that you draw a local audience to your business and optimise your website for local SEO. One of the most important voice search ranking factors for better local results is to establish your Google Business Profile (GBP). GBP helps your business feature in top results for local voice search inputs.
Here are a few tips you can use to set up your GBP:
- Make sure you’re using the correct business name, address, and phone number
- The primary category for your business for GBP should be correct
- You can consider adding a secondary category
- Ensure your GBP has pictures relevant to your business and the services you offer
Step 5: Implement Multilingual SEO for Voice Search
People prefer using the internet in their own language, which also includes voice searches. Multilingual SEO helps you cater to a wider audience, making it an integral part of voice search optimisation. When considering multilingual SEO, make sure that the phonetic sound of translations aligns with user intent.
The process of multilingual SEO also involves optimising metadata in regional languages. Metadata optimisation encompasses translating titles, descriptions, and alt text in local languages. You can leverage tools like Reverie’s Anuvadak to make the website translation and localisation management seamless.
The Path Forward with Voice Search Optimisation
The advances in AI (artificial intelligence) and natural language processing (NLP) are set to advance voice search technology. Voice search has grown from being a trend to becoming a radical shift in digital communications. With voice search optimisation, you can ensure your website comes up in the top results for relevant voice searches.
Voice search offers convenience as well, which also adds to its growing popularity. If you’re targeting local markets, communicating with your audience in their language gives you an edge over your competitors. Tools like Anuvadak help you translate and localise your website to align with your target audience’s preferences. To learn more about Anuvadak and how it can help you, book a free demo today!
Faqs
What is voice search optimisation, and why is it important?
Voice search optimisation encompasses tailoring your website to answer voice-based queries effectively. It’s crucial for improving accessibility, user experience, and search engine rankings.
How do voice search ranking factors differ from traditional search?
Voice search prioritises conversational language, local relevance, and featured snippets, making it distinct from traditional search algorithms that focus more on typed keywords.
What role does structured data play in voice search?
Structured data helps search engines understand your content’s context, increasing the chances of appearing in rich snippets used by voice assistants.
Why is local SEO important for voice search?
Many voice searches are location-specific, like “coffee shop near me.” Optimising for local SEO ensures your business appears in these searches, attracting local customers
What tools can I use for keyword research for voice search?
Tools like Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic, and Ubersuggest help identify long-tail and question-based keywords relevant to voice search queries.
