The SEO world is an ever-changing and evolving industry. A good SEO campaign should include keyword research, content strategy, link building, and technical on-site maintenance. But it’s important to think of the future as well. While voice search has not caught on as quickly as many were predicting, it is still an important aspect to keep an eye on. These days, most people in Canada and the U.S. have access to some sort of smart assistant, whether it’s Siri on their iPhone of Alexa on their Amazon Home. The good news is that there are simple adjustments you can make to your SEO campaign to appeal to voice searches.
Focus on Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are a little bit controversial in the SEO industry. Some claim they provide a lot of value to an SEO claim, while other’s think they’re just nice to have. It really depends on your SEO campaign goals. Featured snippets do not often result in increased traffic to a website, but they do increase visibility.
In terms of voice search, voice queries that can be answered with a featured snippet almost always are. Featured snippets aren’t always pulled from the first position on the SERP. Around 70% of feature snippets generally come from position two through five. This means that once you’re on the first page of your target keyword, relevancy becomes more important than position.
In order to snag the coveted featured snippet, make sure your content is optimized to answer specific questions. This includes formatting. Content should be in paragraph, list, or table form. Keep info short and easy to understand, and optimize it for the keyword.
Learn About Voice Queries
How and what people search depends on the platform their searching on. Desktop searches tend to be short and detailed. For example, “laser hair removal Toronto”. Mobile searches are more localized but still short. For example, “laser hair removal near me”.
Voice assistants are pretty smart these days, and users have picked up on that. Most voice queries are conversational these days. People tend to voice search as if they were asking their friend a question. For example, “Show me the best laser hair removal clinics in Toronto”. Long-tail keywords are vital to optimizing your SEO campaign for voice search, so be sure to ask your SEO agency to include those in the keyword research.
Master Mobile Friendliness
The majority of searches now are done on mobile devices. Not having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option for businesses that want to succeed. Not only are most people searching on their devices, but around 30% of voice searches are done on the go as well.
So if you’re website is not mobile-friendly, now is the time to address that. Not only is this important voice searching, but also it’s vital for the entire SEO campaign. These days, not having a mobile responsive website is almost a kiss of death.
Concentrate on Local SEO
If you’re a local business, it only makes sense to focus on local SEO. Around 22% of voice searches are related to local businesses. Focusing on local SEO is a great way to have potential customers nearby find you. Luckily, appealing to local voice searches is as easy as following all the normal local SEO optimization steps.
This includes using tactics such as geotargeting, using “near me” search terms in meta tags and landing pages, and tailoring to local tastes, such as local events and activities. If you have multiple brick and mortar locations, you can set up separate location pages and be sure that each location has claimed its Google My Business profile.
Final Thoughts
Voice search is only going to grow in the coming years. Voice searches won’t impact SEO as quickly or intensely as initially predicted, but its influence will be felt. By following these simple tips, you can make sure your current SEO campaign works for voice searches as well as desktop and mobile ones!
