Voice search SEO is about optimizing your website, so it appears in search results when people use voice commands to look for information. It helps businesses reach more people using voice searches on smartphones and smart speakers. The good thing is that voice search SEO works similarly to regular text-based SEO. About 75% of voice search results also rank in the top three spots for text-based searches.
To use voice search optimization in SEO, start by improving your regular text-based SEO. If your content doesn’t appear on the first page of search results, it’s unlikely to be chosen for voice search answers, no matter how good.
Voice search works differently from regular searches. On smart speakers, users get only one answer instead of a list of results like in text searches. This makes it important to focus on ranking first for voice search. Smart devices like Google Home and Alexa choose answers based on specific features like:
- Featured snippets (used in over 40% of voice search results).
- Directory listings.
- Knowledge features such as graphs, panels, and boxes.
- Answer boxes.
- “People Also Ask” sections.
To ensure your content is picked as the answer for a voice search, you need to rank at the top of regular search results. Your content should provide clear, helpful answers and appear in special features like answer boxes and snippets. To understand properly, joining SEO training is the best option that allows learners to know more about SEO.
Voice Search SEO Strategies
Follow these simple steps to improve your website for voice search and get more organic traffic.
Check How Your Website Works for Voice Search
To see if your website works well with voice search, try testing it yourself. List the key searches you want to rank for, such as product pages, business details, and important keywords. Test your website using different smart devices (like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant) because each device ranks things differently.
If your website doesn’t show up or the results are not helpful, check how your competitors are doing in voice search.
- Find out which businesses are doing well in voice search results.
- Look at what they are doing better than you.
- See where your content needs improvement.
- Make your content better for voice search SEO.
- Test your content again to see if it improves.
Make Your Content Ready for Featured Snippets
In voice search, your content should appear in featured snippets, which are the answers voice assistants read out loud. To improve your chances, ensure your answers are clear and easy to use in a voice search. Here’s how you can format your content:
- Use bullet points
- Use numbered lists
- Use tables
- Create FAQs
- Give short, clear answers to specific questions
- Provide simple definitions that voice assistants can easily repeat
Focus on answering common questions like who, what, where, when, why, and how. Consider how people would say these questions out loud and include them in your content. Also, make sure your website works well on mobile. Most voice searches are done on mobile devices, so if your site doesn’t perform well on phones, you might lose many visitors.
Update Your Google My Business Profile
Voice search optimization in SEO is often used to find local businesses, so having an accurate Google My Business profile is important for voice search SEO. Make sure your profile has:
- Your business name, services, and products
- Website link
- Business hours
- Prices
- Location(s)
- Accessibility info
This helps Google show your business in local voice searches, especially with the “near me” feature. Google also says businesses with photos get more clicks, so add your logo and good-quality images to your profile.
Keep your information updated. If anything changes, like your phone number, update it right away. Google lets users suggest changes, so check your profile often to make sure everything is correct. Also, review your website for duplicate content or outdated information that might prevent your business from appearing in Google search results.
Boost Your Domain and Local Authority
Domain authority and search engine rankings are important for both regular SEO and voice search SEO. Search engines need to know that your business is relevant to your local audience to show up at the top for local voice searches. Here’s how to improve your voice search SEO:
- Get involved in local communities where your business operates.
- Run local public relations (PR) campaigns.
- Get featured in local news websites and online directories.
- Build links from trusted local websites.
- Make your website trustworthy by showing its expertise.
Add local content like:
- About page
- Contact page
- Author pages
- Local content
- Customer reviews
- Guest blogs from local businesses and influencers
Add Schema Markup to Your Web Pages
Schema markup helps search engines better understand your website’s content. Using schema, you can make your website appear better in search results, especially in rich snippets or featured snippets, which are important for voice search.
The schema is useful for voice search because it highlights key parts of your web page, like the publication date or ratings. This can make your search result look more interesting, leading more people to click on it. More clicks can help your page rank higher, increasing the chances it will be chosen as a voice search result.
Change Your Content for Voice Search SEO
Voice search optimization in SEO is different from regular text search because people usually ask questions longer and more detailed. Think about how people speak when they search. Ensure your content includes longer, more natural phrases that people might say out loud. Voice searches are more casual and detailed, so your content should match that tone. A good tip is to ensure your content sounds natural when spoken aloud—avoid awkward or robotic phrases.
After adjusting your language, look for other questions related to each voice search query. Make sure your content answers them clearly and directly. Long-tail keywords make up about 70% of all search queries, and they’re easier to rank for, so they are great for your voice search strategy.
To learn more about Voice search optimization, joining a digital marketing course is the best option that allows learners to acquire more knowledge in the digital marketing sector.
