If you have stumbled upon this blog after uttering words such as “OK, Google…”, then you know that the future we’ve been waiting for is already here. It’s not just Google that has implemented this wonderful ability to utilize your voice on a range of devices to conduct a search, give out a command, and have greater control over your tech. Smart homes with voice-activated features are no longer a thing of imagination alone, so it’s no wonder modern search engines are adapting as we speak.
So, the next time you’re elbow-deep in cookie batter wanting to find the closest store that sells birthday decorations, you know you don’t have to abandon your cooking project to do so. You’ll simply use your voice to find the information you need. This trend will lead to 50% of all searches to become voice searches by 2021, according to certain research. If you want your brand to be among those forward-thinking creatures who implement the latest trends and care for their customers’ preferences, let’s see how you can bring voice search best tips to grow your own business.
Think locally
To put things in perspective: 46% of voice search users focus on local queries every single day, accounting for almost one half of them all. Therefore, letting your local customers know that you’re on the map means that you should be the right online match for their voice searches as well. Although many modern brands do invest to a certain extent in their local SEO game, this is the perfect moment to go all out in this particular realm.
For starters, make sure that all of your essential data online matches in every business directory, as well as your social media. Introduce content on every channel that will emphasize your location, and that goes for each office you own, so that Google and other engines can recognize and treat them as separate entities. If you are indeed, the nearest, top-rated pet shop for certain users, you’ll want to see you listed at the very top of their search results.
Up your content game
In addition to adding locally relevant words and phrases, especially in that conversational tone typical for voice searches, your brand also needs to make sure that your content matches other qualities to be able to stay among the top-ranked websites. Whether you’re keeping things in house or you’re working with an SEO agency like this, you need to focus heavily on best link-building practices, as well as providing quality content to boost your brand’s authority.
That means that you need to build a powerful content strategy that will revolve around quality as well as quantity, so that you pair increased volume with purpose and make yourself a valuable player in your niche. If Google doesn’t recognize you as an expert in your field, you will not be visible enough for your customers to make that decision on their own. Providing relevant, educational information for your visitors paired and answering relevant questions in your industry through your content means putting yourself in front of the right audience in search engines.
Don’t skip traditional SEO
Eager to acquire more attention in this craze around voice search, brands often neglect some of those basic SEO best practices that have enabled them their current ranking to begin with. Of course, as this voice search ability develops, it’s only natural for your business to introduce more elements that focus precisely around that feature.
However, you also need to ensure that your website loading speed, ease of navigation, and overall readability are covered, so that every other layer of information relevant for voice searches will be able to have any effect. As much as you strive to bring innovation to your SEO plan, don’t forget about its foundation – without it, no voice-relevant efforts will make a difference in the long run.
Master your long-tail keywords
Although you’ve probably already included some long-tail keywords into your content online, you need to make sure you understand the difference between the types of keywords that are often typed as opposed to those long-form phrases we will utter during a voice search. The grammatical differences can be staggering, so it makes sense why websites with a strong focus on delivering on both types of long-tail keywords will have a better chance at boosting their ranking.
One of the simplest, but most effective ways to make this a part of your strategy is to find keywords most commonly used by your customers, and turn them into questions. Brands now add more detailed FAQ pages precisely for this very reason: this gives you the opportunity to directly address those typical conundrums and simultaneously make your website more appealing to search engines with your voice-friendly queries.
The world of SEO is a constantly developing one, and as such, it pushes brands to come up with new, more advanced solutions to stay relevant in the market. With these latest trends in mind, you can optimize your SEO for voice searches and slowly take your brand to the very top of the SERPs, and boost your reputation as you move forward.
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Bio:
Victor T. Miller, a Sydney-based business and marketing specialist who has expanded businesses over 5 years. I am a person who loves to inform people about the latest news in the marketing industry also as sharing tips and advice based on my professional experience and knowledge.
