Have you used Google voice search yet? Have you seen Amazon’s Alexa advertisement in which you can ask just about anything? If not, you are missing out on a great experience. In fact, according to ComScore by 2020 all searches will be done with a voice in the USA. Even if you haven’t used it yet, have you thought if your website is voice optimized or not? If not, you better hurry!
Here are a few ways you can begin your journey to get your website searchable with voice-activated assistants like Siri, Cortana, Alexa and Google Home.
1.Optimize it for Speed
The chances are that the person doing the voice search is using a mobile device. Therefore, most probably they won’t be connected to a Wi-Fi. Consequently, they want websites that load faster. If your site takes more than 10 seconds to load, I’m afraid the user will simply go back and open another link.
Having that said, Google is also aware of this nature. Therefore, they won’t rank your site high if your site’s speed isn’t up to the mark.
2.Focus on Content Optimization
To improve your rank for voice search, you can use both long-form and short-form content. Short-form content can come in handy for getting your own content snippet from Google on the search page. These snippets can be read for you by a Google bot.
On the other hand, long-form content is crucial to get your page ranked on the first page. With more words, your content has more information and the right set of keywords. Remember Google is hungry for informative and high-quality content.
3.Mobile Optimization
As I mentioned above, most people prefer using Google voice search from their mobile devices. Apart from that, more and more users have started using the internet on their phones, so it has become crucial for you to make your website mobile-friendly. If you want your site to rank better, one of Google’s latest algorithm, called mobile-first index signifies that all mobile optimized site will receive better preference on getting a higher rank.
4.Use Long-tail Keywords
I know you’ve probably heard from many SEO experts that short keywords are always better. However, when we talk about voice search, these queries utilize more words. Since you don’t have to type in the words, by using your voice, you are prone to speaking more words.
In addition, long-tail keywords can also fit better into your content. Primarily if you’ve produced a long-form content piece.
5.Use Different Types of Content
We know content is king. However, the king is weak without its army and leaders. With relation to content, you can expect a website full of content to perform better than a site that has used a diversified approach and produced many types of content. Apart from writing long blogs, you can also publish videos, tutorials, infographics and even podcast.
By following this strategy, not only will you attract your potential audience but will also convince those who aren’t interested in blogs to come to visit your site. You never know which potential lead may convert and boost your ROI.
Wrap Up
Voice optimization isn’t something complicated. It just makes your website more credible in the digital world. By following our steps, not only will your chances of getting ranked for voice search increase, but it will also enhance your site’s UI and UX. These steps will help you get a better ranking for all types of searches. In addition, other top search engines like Yahoo, Bing, and Baidu will also consider putting somewhere near the top.
