How To Optimize Websites For Voice Search In 2021?

Well, typing is so overrated. Less than a decade ago speaking to a watch and the watch replying back seemed like something from a sci-fi flick. Fast forward to today, and everyone is doing it. From watches to phones, PC and more, you can find a room with no people filled with gadgets that speak. It’s true and this article is all about that. 

Artificial intelligence like Siri and Google Assistant has become more prominent and voice search optimization for these is necessary. Why? Because ultimately they are pulling information from the web and if your website is not optimized for voice search, you would be lost in oblivion. Songs, location, or a piece of information, everyone has adapted to the convenience of voice search than typing making voice searches more common. A greater advantage that voice searches hold is to understand and reply in varied languages. It is also a fact that voice search has drastically improved over the years. From understanding the tone to the accent, voice assistants have come a long way. So, today we try to decode voice search and understand why voice search seo significant for your success in the online arena. 

What is Voice Search Optimization?

Predicted in movies and tv shows is now as common a mobile phone. It’s in the hands of everyone. Even the most basic phones have voice assist because they are powered by android/google. So, accessibility to voice search has become more prominent. But, from a marketer’s point of view, it’s necessary to understand what voice search seo is? 

• Voice searches are as simple as they sound. It's the usual kind of search that you do on the web. Only this time, you do it using your voice. You speak to your phone and reply with the required answer from the web. A simple example would be — you ask “which is the best Chinese restaurant near me?” The voice assistant (ex.Google) calculates and within seconds helps you with a list. 

• To optimize your website, blog or any form of content for such searches is nothing but voice search optimization. 

• Why voice search seo is more significant is because people are getting more used to it. Several studies by trusted establishments like eMarketer and Perficient indicate that 39.4% of internet users in the USA do voice search at least once every month whereas 55% of people use their smartphone for voice searches. 

• The ultimate goal of voice search engines like Google and Amazon’s Alexa is to help you with your day-to-day and allow you to focus on more necessary things. 

Evolution of Voice Search Technology

There are different ways our kind functions. While we have lived with search engines for a long long time, our journey with voice search technology has just begun. So, you may type on Google —“ top 5 Chinese restaurants near me” and press enter because you trust google to interpret what you want to say and help you with the answer. When it comes to Voice searches, you speak to a Google Home smart speaker as you do with a friend. So, you are more inclined to frame your questions, like “which are the top 5 Chinese restaurants near me?” Again, a voice search will help you with a detailed result. In other words, voice technology has come a long way. 

• Follow-ups have improved — when it comes to making voice searches like conversations, the technology has become really remarkable. You can ask Google — “ Which are the top 5 Chinese restaurants near me? Continued by “What is the customer rating of the second one? And it will understand and interpret what you mean and help you with answers. 

• Spellings and accents have also become more accessible for voice searches. Where previously Google might interpret “Atom” as “Adam”, depending on the accent, it has evolved dramatically in recent times and understands you better. 

• Location-based searches have also become more precise and voice engines can now determine what “near me” means when you say “Top 5 Chinese restaurants near me”. 

• Going above and beyond, things like picking up things from your online conversations to help you with a reply has become very common. Imagine talking to your friends about going to a Chinese restaurant and someone suggested a name. You can simply say, voice search the menu and it will pop up on your screen. It’s fascinating. 

How To Optimize Website For Voice Search

Today, being omnipresent means optimizing for voice search, but, how do you do that? Well, looks at these quick tips that might help you shape your online presence better for voice search. 

• Voice searches use a ton of data that range from location to demography and behavior among others to shape their answers. You need to do the same. You have to look into your Google Analytics and understand what kind of traffic is coming from where. What are their intentions and the most common words they use to describe their query where you show up? For example, if a majority of your searches are from smartphones out of which 90% are millennials, you have to make your voice search game stronger. 

• Make your content more engaging by creating conversation-style pieces. Rather than having a straightforward topic or subtopic, make it in the form of a question. Questions are the most common way people interact with Voice assists. Other than the heading, the content itself has to be detailed and thorough. Don't be comprehensive, rather elaborate on the topic and make it factual. But, before going into much detail have a short answer just below the question, 

• Schema markup is one of the best ways to categorize your online presence. Using markup tools you can help google catalog your content into a category. You can describe your business, use logos and do a lot with Schema markup. When it’s cataloged with Google, the chances for voice results are better. 

• Always have an FAQ page that not just answers your business questions but also the most common questions people ask in your industry. 

• Most searches are local and you too have to think like a local audience. Only then you will rank for “top 5 Chinese restaurants near me”. 

How Does Voice Search Affect SEO?

The new generation is more accepting and open to voice searches. While some of us would rather type our query than narrating, the younger generation is more inclined towards talking on their phone. So, optimizing for voice search is as paramount as doing it for search engines. The race to make voice search a household name is on and if you don’t start optimizing your website today, it might be too late. The more streamlined and localized voice searches become the easier it gets for people to make searches in their language which also tells you that it’s necessary to be localized in the way you approach voice search SEO. 

At the end of the day, technology like voice search is going to progress. Why? Because it is for the betterment of the people and Google is all about that. So, brace yourself and start working on optimizing your website for voice searches, today!