Technology constantly evolves to make tasks, processes, and everyday life more streamlined; essentially, easier. We have seen technology turn labour intensive tasks into completely automated processes. Hours of research into real time AI responses. Now, enter the rise of voice search. Again, another way by which we are harnessing advancements in technology to simply make their life easier.
So, what is voice search?
Voice search uses speech recognition technology to transform voice signals into text. This is then funnelled into whichever search engine you may be using - think Alexa, Meta platforms or Google, to return a list of results. But this definitely isn’t new. Voice recognition devices have been around for years - even old mate Siri was born over 10 years ago!
So why now? What’s different? And why are we seeing a huge rise in consumers using voice search technology? It’s closely linked to advancements in its accuracy. As well as the introduction of AI technology that enables our gadgets and smartphones to better process your voice and respond with more precise information. And of course, as more smartphones, TVs, speakers, cars, and gadgets incorporate the voice search feature, the easier it is for the modern consumer to use.
How does voice search differ to traditional text-based search?
Overall, it’s to do with the language used in a voice search prompt. You are more likely to ask specific questions in a conversational tone compared to when typing long-winded questions in a text-based search.
Marketers can leverage the fact that consumers are asking more specific questions via voice search through tailoring their online strategy to include various voice search optimisations that can help boost SEO. One example of this is the use of Long-Tail Key Words.
LONG TAIL KEYWORDS
We can't have this discussion without addressing SEO because every voice prompt funnels through some form of search engine. One way to optimise your website or business profile is through using Long Tail Key Words.
Long tail Keywords are targeted search phrases that typically demonstrate a consumer’s specific intent. For example,
Short Tail
Long Tail
Now given Long-Tail key words have a LOWER search volume, why should we care about them?
Put simply, there is less competition. If you are offering an affordable balayage, cut and blow wave in London, by using detailed phrases amongst your website that directly answer this question you can improve your SEO ranking. Similarly, long-tail keywords showcase ‘purchasing intent’ as there is a clear motive to purchase a service or product. This means they are more likely to convert over someone who has simply put ‘Hair salon’ into the search bar.
Now you can see why incorporating Long-tail Key Words into your SEO aligns closely with voice search. It mimics a natural question to ask voice search technology, as most of the time when we have a clear question, we want a clear answer.
How else can we optimise our website or business online for voice search?
Make sure your business is set up on all the major platforms with the most obvious being Google search, Google maps and Apple Maps. It is likely that voice search will direct you straight to one of these. And ensure your Google Business profile is up to date as well.
FAQ pages on your website: A great structure that provides users to clear and straightforward answers and, in most cases, the ‘question’ will be phrased on the FAQ page. If you’re looking for Q&A inspiration, look at questions that have been asked in the Google Q&A section of your business location, or at common customer service queries (or even popular Insta DMs).
Key Word research: We mentioned using long-tail key words however the SEO landscape is constantly evolving, so make sure you stay up-to-date with the newest tools and technology that can help boost your use of SEO key words.
Optimise for mobile: You may be thinking this is a given by now, but voice search is most popular on mobile devices so ensuring your website is looking sleek and functions correctly in a mobile format is ESSENTIAL. All your hard work towards voice search optimisation will be nothing if your site isn’t mobile friendly.
Voice search is clearly on the rise, and if you’re not thinking about optimising your website to match this energy…today is the day to start!
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