According to a study by Statista, there are approximately 4.08 billion voice assistants in use worldwide in 2020 and it is expected to touch 8 billion by the year 2023 (. So, it will be almost double of what it currently is in span of just 3 years.
Needless to say, search habits across the globe have taken a quantum leap and people are now using voice search options more often. People interacting with their smartphones, speaking into their watches, commanding their smart speakers to play their favorite songs are commonplace now a days.
COVID-19 spread has also contributed to the increasing prominence of the voices searches as theyprotectus from contamination by limiting touches. Moreover, you can have the device fetch the desired details even while eating or when you are in bathroom.
According to a study by Perficient (2020), 55% respondents included using voices searches as one of their top 3 options. Is it surprising then that Artificial Intelligence enabled voice assistants like Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung Bixby are engaging people like never before? Of course not.
Why are voices searches getting more popular?
It is simply because they are easier to perform andfaster as well because you are not manually keying in the characters. The fact that you do not even have to touch the device is a great enabler as people can search for recipe steps while they are kneading the dough.
With Artificial Intelligence as an enabler, voices searches are evolving from voice recognition to voice understanding and Google appears to be particularly focused on developing their voice search into a highly interactive mobile assistant tool. This has its roots in a major algorithmic change in 2013 that is known as “Hummingbird”. It emphasizes on Natural Language Processing, considering the context and intent of the queries instead of the individual keywords.
The aforementioned change has also brought in a paradigm shift in devising SEO strategies. Hence, considering the evolution of voice searches in recent times, it is imperative that you have a sound Voice Search Optimization Strategy in place.
Let us look at 7 SEO strategies that can help you stay ahead of the curve as far as Voice Search Optimization is concerned.
- Compatibility with HTTPS Framework: A study shows that over 70% of results delivered through voices searches are Google Home Result Pages secured with HTTPS. Hence, it is advisable that your website is ‘https’ compliant.
- High Domain Authority and Faster loading time: Websites with higher Domain Authority (DA) and faster loading time are a must from SEO’s perspective irrespective of whether it is a voice or text search. Hence, hunting for backlinks, social media shares, content refinement and a great user experience are key.
- Rich in Content: The more content rich the website is the more likely it is to rank higher in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages). According to a study by SEMrush, 62% of voices searches returned a Featured Snippet Result in Travel and Computer & Electronics domain. Most of the answers read out by Google Assistant or any other smart devices for that matter are usually from Google’s Featured Snippet.
- Mobile friendly content: Smartphones are primary devices for voice searches and hence, it is important for your websites to be mobile friendly. You can use Google’s mobile friendliness test tool to check how mobile friendly your website it. A mobile friendly website is more likely to perform well on all devices.
- Conversational tone of the content: Most of the voice searches have long-tail keywords instead of short-tail keywords. For example, for a text search, people are more likely to type “Toledo Weather” and on the other hand while performing voice searches, they are more likely to ask questions like “How is the weather out there in Toledo today?”. Or they will issue a command to their smart device voice assistant – “Alexa, please play ‘Love Story’ from Taylor Swift”. Hence, usage of natural language is encouraged because it more likely that the users will find a match for their questions and the respective answers.
- Google Business Listing is important: People often user voices searches on the go to find hotels to stay, restaurants to eat, and monuments to visit etc. A major chunk of voice searches consists of “near me” questions. Such voice searches mostly arrive from theaters, restrooms, malls, stores, restaurants etc. Hence, having your google business listing in place will make it easier for people to find you. Also, spruce it up with precise details like business’ name, address, phone number with area code, appropriate category selection and a good business pitch in your intro.
- Build FAQs pages: Majority of voices searches typically begin with “What”, “When”, “How”, “Why” etc. It is also likely that the users are in immediate need of the answers. Hence, having an FAQ page on your website helps a great deal in optimizing it for search results. It is also recommended that you create dedicated blog posts based on questions related to your business and products.
Above mentioned optimization strategies should add value to your SEO efforts. Now is the time to get your Voice Search Optimization strategies in place and reap rich digital dividends.
