Want to make sure your website is prepared for voice searchers?
Wondering how to optimize a website for voice search?
One of the most significant search engine trends as of late is the use of voice search. More people than ever are searching for products, services, and information using only their voices with the help of smartphones and smart devices.
Because of this, it’s crucial that you ensure your website is optimized for these searches. This way, you won’t miss out on search traffic and potential customers.
Luckily, we’ve got your back. Below we’ll tell you how you can go about optimizing your website for voice search.
1. Use Natural Language
One of the best ways to optimize for voice search is to use more natural language in the content of your site.
Using too many big words and technical jargon can make it more difficult for you to rank because your content won’t reflect the way people really speak when performing a search. It’s best if you don’t use too many technical words or phrases and instead keep your content and keywords simple and conversational.
Try to think about how people will actually be speaking when asking questions using an Alexa smart device or when using a smartphone to perform a voice search. Then, improve your content and copy to reflect that.
2. Focus on Questions
When performing a voice search, people tend to phrase their queries as questions. Because of this, it’s a great idea to keep this in mind when developing content ideas and when writing content for your site.
Think about what your customer’s questions will be and put yourself in their shoes. Then, create blog content and website copy that addresses these questions in a conversational way. Use natural long-tail keywords and questions throughout your site and you’ll ensure you’re getting some of that important voice search traffic.
3. Add FAQ Pages
Continuing off the last point, it’s a great idea to add frequently asked question (FAQ) pages to your website if you want to capitalize on voice search traffic. In addition to creating content centered around specific questions, simply providing an FAQ at the bottom of service or product pages can be very beneficial as well.
For each section of your site, consider including an FAQ section which answers some of the most common questions that are asked by clients and customers in your industry. Doing this will make it much more likely that searchers will find your site when performing a search.
4. Optimize Page Speed
While this can help with all types of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s especially important that you work hard to improve your site’s speed when optimizing for voice search. Google takes speed into account when providing search results and this a key indicator the search engine uses when ranking pages.
When people are performing voice searches they expect to get answers to their questions extremely quickly. If your site loads too slowly then Google might not show your site to searchers and they may send potential visitors elsewhere instead.
It’s important that you improve your site speed by getting a reliable host, optimizing your site caching features, and by compressing your site’s content and media.
5. Implement Local SEO Techniques
If you run a local business then it’s essential that you use local SEO techniques when optimizing your site for voice search. Many voice searchers are looking for products and services or information on the fly when they’re out and about in town. They’ll often search for local goods and services by using voice search functions on their mobile device.
If you’re a local business that hasn’t optimized their site using local SEO techniques you may miss out on a lot of customers as a result, especially when it comes to voice searches.
6. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly
Mobile devices usually go hand-in-hand with voice search, and because of this, it’s important that your website is also very mobile-friendly. Many searchers will be speaking to their smartphone when performing a voice search and results will come up on their device.
Google prefers to send mobile searchers to sites that will look great on their devices and if your website isn’t optimized you may not make the cut. Be sure that you’re using responsive website design and that you’ve tested your pages thoroughly to ensure they look great on mobile.
7. Use Structured Data
When optimizing for voice search you should also use structured data, or schema markup.
It’s important that Google is able to understand your site and how all of its content fits together. Doing this will allow Google to know which searchers to send to your site and which pages are the most relevant.
Using schema markup and structured data will help make it easier for search crawlers to crawl your site and to understand how each page is important. Make sure that you use schema markup if you want to have the best time optimizing your site for voice searches.
Understanding How to Optimize a Website For Voice Search
If you’ve been wondering how to optimize a website for voice search, by now you should be getting a pretty good idea of how you can do it. By using the tips above you’ll be able to capitalize on your opportunities and get this new wave of searchers to come to your website rather to a competitor’s site.
Looking for help with your digital marketing strategy? Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.