Voice searches drive sales. The ease of searching with voice is second to none, and people cannot get enough of it. In 2020 there were 4.2 billion digital voice devices being used around the world, and forecasts predict in 2024 that number will jump to 8.4 billion, with devices outnumbering the human population. (Statista 2021)
The idea of using voice to search began with smartphones and quickly jumped to smart speakers and voice assistants around the world. Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant allow people to simplify their lives, and all generations are embracing the rise in voice search technology to make purchases and find businesses.
There are over 12 billion voice searches occurring each month (Google 2020), and if you haven’t invested in optimizing voice search for your business, you’re missing an effective opportunity to grow your revenue for your company.
Voice search optimization is the process of upgrading your site and your pages to elevate your performance as a resource in voice searches. Let’s empower you with some important steps to increase your site’s presence and succeed in a new voice-first world. And don’t worry, you don’t have to do it alone, we have a team of experts who can help optimize your campaigns and drive more online and front door customers to your business.
- Embrace Long-Tail Keywords Choosing keywords and common phrases of five to nine words that are highly relevant to your product or service will increase your chances of appearing at the top of voice search results.
- Focus on Local Search Results The majority of voice search requests consist of “ near me” questions about hours and location. By claiming and updating your Google My Business listing, you optimize local voice results as well.
- Keep Language Conversational People tend to speak differently than the way they type, so well planned content should anticipate any questions your customers may have, and a good rule is to answer them as though talking with a family member or friend.
- Optimize for Mobile Be sure your site has a responsive design, compressed images, easy navigation, bigger buttons, and is optimized for speed. Customers want to find quick answers to their queries.
- Reorganize your FAQ page Build a page with answers to “how” or “what” questions and use adjectives like “best” and “easy”. For ideas, read your online reviews for inspiration.
- Help Google Recognize You A well developed and consistent Google My Business listing is necessary to help Google know that your business should rank for a query when displaying similar businesses in your area.
- Be Concise Copywriting on your site should be easy to understand, as it’s important to use simple and direct language that is easy to comprehend in 5 seconds or less.
- Creative Spelling Keep in mind that unique spelling of brand names or products can be aesthetically pleasing, but may also translate poorly to voice search if people are unsure of pronunciations.
