Voice search is just one of the fast-developing technologies that digital marketers must consider in their efforts. Consumers will be using voice search and we will see Google acting accordingly and it behoves businesses of all sizes to follow suit. This is the same thing we saw with mobile-first indexing and it looks like voice-first indexing will soon follow according to Tommy McDonald of SEO firm SerpLogic.
SEO is a fast-changing landscape according to McDonald who has seen a lot in his decade in the industry. He expects to see voice search make big gains as we end this year and enter next year. However, he also says there are plenty of ways to prepare for this voice search.
Here are some tips from SerpLogic you should consider to make the most of your search engine results in the ever-changing frontier of digital marketing.
The Featured Snippet
Featured snippets are a highly valued spot you will find in the Google Search Results. What makes this spot such a popular position for marketers?
Position 0 in itself means that your products, goods or services will be placed at the very top of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), but snippets do more than that. A Snippet will provide the best possible answer to a query or search term, at least as far as Google is concerned. The average voice search is 29 words long so you will want to consider how you can answer the questions your audience is asking with a comprehensive yet concise explanation.
So begin with the question you are answering then include that answer above the fold on the web page you are promoting. For example if you look up “the best recipes for oatmeal hotcakes” you will find a suitable option from “The Kitchn” listed in the snippet.
You will also get the same result whether you search from a desktop or mobile browser.
On the web page you will be guided to you will find that the ingredients listed have been properly positioned above the first fold and structured so that the Google Search engine can easily present the information in a featured snippet. Therefore, it has taken first place in voice-search and snippets for both mobile and desktop browsers.
In the end, this will greatly enhance the traffic directed to this webpage. Sounds pretty good, right? So, let’s learn a bit more about getting the featured snippet length just right.
Become Mobile Friendly + Improve Site Speed
In case you hadn’t heard. Google has recently completed a major project of indexing websites so that they will be better suited to us on mobile devices. What does this mean to you? It means that those sites that are optimized to work well with mobile devices are given greater relevance. Why does this matter to voice-search?
Because along with mobile search, voice searches are rapidly becoming the preferred method of Google Search. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in optimizing this aspect of your marketing efforts.
Google has the capacity to detect which websites will run better on mobile devices and will give these priorities based on this factor alone. So, how will you know if your website is a mobile –friendly option? There are ways to find out!
Using the Google Search Console you can find out if your website is properly optimized or if there is room for improvement. You can also get some tips on what to do. For example, you may find that JavaScript errors are slowing down your website’s function on mobile devices. This may rank your site as “not-mobile friendly”. The Google Search Console will then provide a readout of the problem and where it is located in a JavaScript file or URL.
It is good to know that by optimizing your webpages for mobile use you will also increase their speed and functionality. Think of it like this. If you were in the middle of your busy schedule and finally found a free minute to check out an item you were thinking of buying, you want speed and optimal function. If the web page is taking too long to load, you will be tempted to go with another web page offering a similar item.
This is an important thing to consider. The quality of your online interactions with users and consumers says something important about your business and its professionalism. The fact that your website will also be listed as “mobile-friendly” means that you will be given higher rankings by the search engines.
Create Conversational Content
People who use voice search don’t speak in a written language and it would be better to make your content a bit more conversational. If you were to be looking for “best B2B website designs”, that’s all you would type into the query box. But, if you were going to make the same query in voice-search, you would say something like “What are the best B2B website designs?” The language used goes from technical and efficient to conversational and sometimes lyrical.
Focus on Local Searches
According to the experts on SEO, 58% of all users have used voice search to find a local business. And Google predicts that by the end of 2020, half of all local searches will be made with voice search technology. This information indicates a great opportunity to those boosting their popularity and prominence in the local scene.
Long-Tail Keywords
As mentioned, long-tail keywords are going to be your best bet for achieving the featured snippet and gaining traction in your corner of the market.
Long-tail keywords carry many advantages. First of all, they are less competitive than shorter words and phrases. They are also more specific and work well when they are selected to answer questions from a specific demographic. There are many ways to find the right long-tail keywords that will make the biggest impact with your audience. One good way to find a wealth of ideas would be to use the “Answer the Public” tool.
Answer the Public is a popular tool that takes your topic or keywords and generates a variety of questions that would be seen from a public audience. Once you find a suitable list of questions, you will be able to plug them right into your AHrefs and SEMrush tools. These tools will give you valuable insights on search volume, keyword difficulty and other important metrics.
Finally, don’t underestimate the power and versatility of Google itself as a keyword research tool of the highest quality – plus, it is completely free. You can find endless insights on what people are doing, what they are talking about and how they choose to word their voice searches. By gaining an understanding of what Google finds relevant, you can begin to craft your content to match.
