How to Optimize for Voice Search?

If you had any doubts about the world’s shift to a digital future, you need only look at the recent voice search trends.

It’s not a gimmick anymore. More people are using voice search now, to the point that it is transforming search engine optimization.

Consider these voice search statistics from the past two years:

• Approximately 40% of adults use voice search at least once per day
• Almost 20% of all mobile search queries are by voice search
• 16% of Americans currently own a voice-activated smart speaker
• Google Assistant is already available on over 400 million devices

 
Make no mistake about it:

We are on the brink of a voice search revolution. The future of voice technology is set to shake up industries around the globe.

Let’s discover how you can harness the power of voice search SEO.

Why Should You Use Voice Search?

You may be loyal to the old methods, and see nothing wrong with typing in your search queries on desktop keyboards or your mobile device.

But change is afoot, and even those who feel change is anathema are beginning to see the distinct advantages of voice search:

• It’s easier to search by speaking rather than typing
• There are less digital touchpoints or on-screen interactions
• It generates quicker results
• It delegates more to the smart devices
• You can make calls simply by speaking to the voice search assistant
• AI delivers more targeted results

 

6 Major SEO Challenges of Voice Search for Marketers

The rise of voice search has thrown a curveball to marketers in the past year, essentially changing how they look at search engine optimization (SEO).

How you optimize for standard organic search results and how you optimize for voice search are two entirely different concepts.

If you want to stay on top in voice search, your marketing team have a lot to think about:

1. Complex Search Queries

The majority of voice search queries are long-tail phrases, and many of them are more complex and more targeted than text queries.

The fix?

It’s time to revive your current keywords list. Focus more on using long-tail keywords in your content, and in your ads. By analyzing your ad copy, you can try to align your keywords with the most common and relevant questions being asked by your target audience.

2. Targeted Results

Voice search generates the most recent, and the most highly-optimized, targeted results. Although this presents an opportunity to rank high on specific queries, it is also very difficult to optimize your site for these queries.

The fix?

Imagine that you are responding to a person. Think about how people speak, and then develop your content with a suitable tone. This takes time to craft but it is highly effective.

3. Shorter Interactions

Generally speaking, voice search is used for quick answers like weather forecast, directions, playing a song etc.

The fix?

Use more keywords in question form, so that your content and ads will display for similar search queries. By adding terms like ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘how, and ‘why’, you can have the question and answer together for searchers.

4. Fewer Ad Impressions

Due to short interaction time, marketers have fewer opportunities to rank in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). There is also higher competition.

The fix?

Use Google Analytics to track the performance of your current strategies. With regular analysis, you can identify underperforming tactics and key factors that are helping or preventing you from hitting your goals.

5. Dependence On User Intent

Marketers need to study their target audience at a deep level to get a thorough understanding of their intents, needs, interests, and searching behaviors.

The fix?

If you don’t already know your audience, now is the time to start digging. With audience personas and thorough research of the data you have collected, you can get a clear picture of the people you are attempting to reach.

This will help you align your content and ads to answer the questions they have, ultimately making it easier to connect with them, and eventually, convert them.

6. Audio-Only Interfaces

The prevalence of smart speakers and voice search apps is gradually conditioning people to discover new information, interact with websites, and even make purchases solely by using their voice. As this trend grows, visual mediums may fade out, forcing marketers to invest more in audio marketing.

The fix?

For now, focus on the mobile experience. Almost 90% of voice searches are performed on mobile devices so by ensuring your site is mobile-responsive, fast, and optimized for mobile search, you’ll keep people engaged as you learn more about audio marketing.

Meanwhile, do some research on the frequently used questions in your market space and build up your knowledge of voice queries related to your content and industry.

Voice Search is the Next Big Thing

Just as visual search and video marketing are rapidly becoming dominant forces in marketing, voice search offers a mobile-mad world another channel to satisfy their need for quick solutions with minimal effort.

The advancements in artificial intelligence have already made smart assistants commonplace, in offices and homes.

Voice search will continue to grow in the next few years and looks set to usurp text search before long. In fact, studies project that voice search will replace traditional search methods by as much as 90% by the year 2022.

That poses significant problems for businesses around the world, and it’s time they looked to adapt if they want to maintain a strong presence online.

PPCexpo provides predefined reports, which are free for a limited time. These reports help marketers assess their ad performance, which will enable you to gain insights into how to optimize your marketing for the way people are using voice search.

One way or another, it’s time to adapt, or else get left behind.