Voice Search is Reshaping the Future of SEO

Along with social media and video, voice search has transformed the way people interact with the internet. The rise in popularity of smart speakers, virtual assistants, and voice-enabled devices, means more and more people are using their voices to search for information, products, and services online. In fact, it’s predicted that around 80% of all searches will be conversational voice searches in 2024 and this is only growing. This shift in search behavior has had a significant impact on SEO; websites must adapt to this new reality to remain visible and accessible to their target audience.

How Does Voice Search Impact SEO?

Voice search, powered by advancements in AI and speech recognition technology, is having a big impact on SEO in several key ways. First, it tends to be longer and more conversational than traditional text-based searches, meaning you’ll need to optimize your website for long-tail keywords (usually made up of 3 to 5 words) and natural language phrases. This is because people speaking into their devices tend to use natural language patterns and complete sentences, rather than short, keyword-focused queries.

Secondly, voice search results often prioritize featured snippets, which are concise answers to search queries that appear at the top of the search results page. Optimizing your content for featured snippets can help you gain visibility, as virtual assistants often read these snippets aloud.

Voice searches are often used to find local businesses and services, this makes local SEO especially important. When people use their voices to search for a nearby restaurant, store, or service, they expect to see results from businesses in their area.

Finally, Google tends to prioritize mobile-friendly websites in its search results, this is especially true for voice searches, which are often conducted on mobile devices. Having a mobile-friendly website is essential if you want to rank well in voice search results, so Google can provide a seamless user experience for mobile users.

What Are the Benefits of Voice Search Optimization?

There are some big benefits to including voice search optimization in your SEO strategy, below are the core three:

• Increased Visibility: Optimizing for voice search can help your website gain visibility in the search engine results, which can lead to increased traffic, brand awareness and ad revenue. You can find out more about how ads and SEO can work together in our blog “Do Ads Affect Your SEO?”.
• Improved User Experience: Voice search optimization can help you provide a better user experience, which can lead to increased engagement and conversions or ad click-throughs. When users can quickly and easily find the information they need through voice search, they'll be more likely to engage with your content and spend time on your site.
• Competitive Advantage: As voice search continues to grow in popularity, websites that are optimized correctly will have a competitive advantage over those that are not!

Strategic SEO for Voice Search

Here are some strategy ideas for voice search optimization:

• Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords and Natural Language Phrases: You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Search, and AnswerThePublic to identify long-tail keywords and natural language phrases that people are using in voice searches. Make sure you incorporate these keywords and phrases into your website content as naturally and conversationally as possible. If keywords are shoehorned into content, it can make things hard to read and ruin the user experience.
• Create Content That Answers Questions: More often than not voice searches are used to ask questions. Creating content that answers common questions related to your industry or niche will position you as an expert source in your field, something Google prioritizes. This content could include blog posts, FAQs, or how-to guides.
• Optimize for Featured Snippets: Structuring your content in a way that makes it easy for Google to extract featured snippets will make it more likely that your site will get picked up for these. Use clear headings, bullet points, and numbered lists.
• Focus on Local SEO: Make sure your website is listed in local directories and that your business name, address, and phone number information is consistent across the web.
• Ensure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly: You can use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to check whether your website is mobile-friendly. If it’s not, take the steps needed to make sure your site has a responsive design. This includes correctly sized images and videos, readable text, and ads optimized for various devices.

By implementing these strategies, you can ensure that your website is optimized for voice search and that it's well-positioned to reach your target audience as we continue to move into this new era of search.