How to Optimize For Voice Search

How to optimize your website for voice search?

It’s clear from reading Google’s Voice Search rater guidelines that they want voice search results that are very brief and to-the-point. Content that is easy to read and comprehend performs better in voice search.

Foundations of basic SEO come into play including:

• Domain Authority/Trust
• Current Rankings
• Website speed

Let’s look at what you need to do to ensure that your site is optimized.

Start By Researching Keywords

Search using voice rather than text, means that keyword length increases due to the nature of how we speak.

We do not say “maid service,” as we might type into Google search. We say, “do you know of any reliable maid services in the area?”

Although we are speaking to a device, the experience remains founded in human linguistics. Additionally, many voice-enabled machines bypass results options and instead, direct the searcher to a product’s action.

For example, if you say, “Order Chinese Food.” Google Home is not as likely to verbally recited a list of all the available options. It might take you to the nearest Chinese restaurant which delivers to your address.

Research and Optimization

Keywords have always been crucial to SEO.  However, the keywords for voice SEO are not always the same.

To understand why this is the case, think about how you might ask a question of Google if you were typing.

If you wanted to know the opening times of a store, you would type: “opening times [store name].” 

However, with speaking is more natural to say: “Siri/Alexa/OK Google, what are the opening times for [store name]?”

One of the essential components of voice search optimization is long-tail keywords that are similar to the questions people ask of smart devices.

These devices encourage a more conversational tone.

You can ask the Google search assistant how they are, or what their favorite song is. Users are driven to engage with the tech as if it is a person.

This means keywords are often phrased as questions.

How can you apply this to your specific website?

Firstly, you need to think about the search terms that people may ask that your website can answer. Look at the keywords that have brought searchers to your site in the past.

These keywords can then be turned into questions. For example: “best pizza in Dallas” becomes “What is the best pizza in Dallas?”.

Create an FAQ page for your site

This FAQ page allows you to source further long-tail keywords about your content. 

Ask yourself: “What questions I am frequently asked regarding my business, products, or services.”

For example, if you are a photography expert, then you may frequently be asked:

“how do I set up a tripod?”

 “what is the photographer’s golden hour?”

You have likely answered these kinds of questions using your expertise a thousand times before, but in this instance, these often-heard questions are incredibly useful. Why?

Simple: these questions you are overly-familiar with can lead to the identification of additional long-tail keywords regarding your area of interest, which your site can then seek to answer, and you can optimize.

Frequently asked questions provide valuable content. Phrase the questions in the first person, as someone might ask them. Then offer short, informative answers.

It is also important to optimize for keywords that are genuinely conversational.

For example, take this example:

• “Hotels close to the beach in Cancun.”

When this is phrased as a question using a voice command, it becomes:

• “Which hotels are closest to the beach in Cancun?”
• “Where can I find hotels that are close to the beach in Cancun?”

The addition of “I” and phrases like “that are” make the difference between a standard keyword and one that is genuinely conversational.

Where are Voice Query Results Coming From?

Remember earlier, when I talked about how some queries are read out by a smart speaker or device to the questioner?

These answers tend to come from Google’s Answer Box, which is featured in search results right at the top of the results page. This is sometimes referred to as a “featured snippet” or position zero.

Optimizing your content, so it’s most likely to appear in the Answer Box gives you an immediate benefit when it comes to voice search optimization.

The Answer Box tends to work well for the following kinds of searches:

• How-to guides
• Calculations and conversions
• Health (particular symptoms of illnesses)
• Requirements
• Processes
• FAQ
• Question-based queries

Your content is more likely to display in the Answer Box if:

• It ranks well organically. Without having solid SEO and rankings, appearing at the top of the SERP’s is not going to happen.
• It is, in short, easily digested paragraphs.
• Includes how to or answers questions
• It is optimized for long-tail, questioning keywords.
• It contains lists that Google is easily able to understand.

The key to appearing in the Answer Box is to ask yourself;  have I provided the best answer to the question?

Optimize for Local Search

Update Your Local Listing and Develop Your “Google My Business”

Many voice search queries are for information about places users wish to visit. That could be a particular query such as “Pizza place in Rome.” Alternatively, a suggestion query like, “what are the best pizza places in Rome?”

In this scenario, the best keyphrase that is worth optimizing is “Pizza places in Rome.” However, if an individual inputs something more general, like, “pizza places near me,” Google will instantly track the user’s location and make suggestions for relevant nearby places.     

The words “near me” is a keyword that is universal and one you should remember. Whenever the two words are present, Google’s voice search algorithms go to Google business listings. That is where your brand’s name needs to be listed and present.

Make sure you set your profile up with your name, email or address and phone number for every user that finds your business. By making this information available, you are helping with ranking your site with Google in the local search world.