How does voice searching impact SEO?
Voice searching is seen as the future of Internet searching but we all know it’s nothing new. The technology has been around for years. What is new is how people are using it. Gone are the days of people asking Siri to make jokes. Now people are using voice search as part of their everyday inquiries. Google Home, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon Echo aren’t the future- they’re the now.
Then vs. Now
More people are using voice searching now than ever before. Close to 40% of adults use it at least once a day. But they’re not using it how they use to. In the past, voice searching was used for simple and practical applications. People shouted profanity at Siri just to get one of her humorous dry responses back. But now people are asking genuine searching questions.
Voice searching software is nothing new but it is finally working up to the level that it’s supposed to. Gone are the days for growing increasingly frustrated as you wait for the software to recognize what you’re saying. The software is more accurate and efficient today. Now, even if the software mishears you, the search results understand the general meaning of what you’re saying.
Impact On SEO
There’s no doubt that as any new form of searching becomes popular it will impact SEO. With conventional searching, people type in a short question, but more commonly some keywords. A list is then presented that of helpful results. The goal of SEO is to get your site near the top of relevant search results.
But when people search using whichever voice recognition software two things are different than a conventional search. The first is that people search in full sentences and question, not keywords. Instead of “Toronto coffee shops” it would be “What are some good Toronto coffee shops?” So how does this impact SEO? Well, instead of target keywords now you have to think about targeting semantic phrases. Including natural sounding phrases and questions in your titles and posts will increase their chances of showing up on a voice search.
The second difference is that the search engine results page (SERP) is no longer used. What happens now is that the voice software will answer back instead of pulling up a list of results. However, usually, it will answer and pull up results. Modify your SEO practices to fit into a more “Q and A” type of voice. A more natural voice will help with voice searching SEO.
Voice Searching SEO
So how can people use SEO for voice searching? The simple answer is to make your posts sound as natural as possible. Think about what question you are trying to answer with your posts. Consider putting the question as the title of your pages and posts too.
It’s also important to remember that voice searching means mobile searching. Make sure that your site is mobile friendly. More people are primarily searching on mobiles than ever before. So while standard, desktop SEO is important, mobile and voice searching is too. Think about semantic phrases and local SEO as well as general keywords. Contact us today to discuss how we can improve your websites SEO.