Introduction
Optimizing your site for increasing SERPs is a good thing. If you want to keep your online business afloat you need to work hard on how you can use the right keywords and phrases that can help you to be visible in the search results and gradually boost your site performance. However, as consumers shift to mobile there is a new trend of voice search that is gradually becoming popular. While voice search still is not a major thing to be worried about it will be in the near future. In the year 2017, you have to keep in mind that your site should not only be equipped to handle type in queries but also for voice search.
The Rise of Voice Search
The concept of voice search has been there for quite some time, but it was Apple’s Siri that made use of this technology in a unique way. Consumers were attracted towards this new and better way to search without having to type any keyword or phrase. With Siri, users can ask questions and get answers from the Web, just like that. Google Voice Search was the next on the scene and Alexa followed along with many other voice recognition technologies. By the end of 2014, 55% of the US teens were using voice search more than twice a day. Google believes that by the end of 2020, more than half of queries will be voice search.
So, how do you stay ahead of the game and ensure that your website is optimized for voice search? Here are top 4 tips to keep in mind.
Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
The concept of keywords has changed over the years. While many users would type in just one or two words in the search bar, they would not do the same when they are using voice search. For instance, a user looking for some SEO tips online might type “SEO tips” in the search bar, but on the voice search a user might say “Top SEO tips to improve my site performance”. Hence, the search keyword is basically a conversation with the AI embedded in the phone.
Understand the Language
When you are focusing on voice search you need to focus on the language people use while they give commands to their smartphones. This can be a bit tricky because the same question can be said in many different ways, but you need to move beyond the most popular variation to get the right results.
Evaluate Your Google Analytics
Your Google Search Console can share some information on how people are finding your website and what search phrases and keywords you should target. This will help you to create content around those queries and come up with phrases and long-tail keywords that are connected to those queries.
Focus on Mobile
Most users are now using mobile to search queries and to browse the Internet. Hence, make sure that your website is mobile optimized. Also, the content should be short and crisp and relevant allowing mobile users to make the best use of your website. The design should be responsive and all the elements that require click and scrolling should be easy and convenient because mobile users navigate the site through thumbs and index finger.
Conclusion
Optimizing your site for voice search has become important in order to keep the site performance intact. Digital search assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Google Now have changed the way people search on the Web. Most experts believe that in the future these digital assistants will surpass the traditional keyboard search. While it would be wrong to say that the keyboard search is dead, but preparing for the future and optimizing your site for voice search is the way to go.
