Do you know how voice search is changing SEO?
You’ll be surprised to learn about the recent figures that show a consistent rise in voice searches. Data for the U.K shows that 86 percent of people report using voice search to make queries. With this rapid growth of voice search assistants, it has become necessary for companies to plan for the future by adopting up-to-date practices.
In this blog we will tell you about what voice search is and how it is revolutionising SEO. After building a good understanding, we will provide you with different methods that you can adopt for the changing times. Finally , we will see why re-strategising your content is beneficial in the current time period.
But before we begin, you can contact us directly for further expert SEO guidance.
What is Voice Search?
Voice search allows you to communicate with a device with your voice to search for information on the internet. It facilitates the searching process by providing users with enhanced accessibility. The data shows that asking a voice assistant to look up for information is more convenient for users than manual searching. In addition, there are multiple virtual assistants available that further enhance the user experience for voice search. Some of these include:
But what does this mean for SEO?
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How Voice Search Impacts SEO?
The increasing use of voice search has had a significant impact on SEO and it has become imminent to re-strategise your content for the best results. In this section, we will discuss 5 ways voice search has revolutionised SEO forever. These include:
1. Shifting to Long-Tail Keywords
Voice assistants answer queries in the form of a conversation which makes the user ask questions in a conversational manner resulting in long-tail keywords. Further voice searchers ask questions that are long and keep a conversational tone instead of saying 2-3 words like manual searches. This allows the user to get information catered for their specific search intents. This change in the style of carrying out a search has resulted in search engines preferring long-tail keywords.
2. Preferring Conversational Tone
As the user interaction with a virtual assistant is carried out in a conversational tone, search engines prefer content that follows this style. Search engines have adopted to understand and respond better by providing information from the content that responds to user queries in a conversational manner. This process leads to a higher ranking of blogs and other information that use natural language.
3. Understanding User Intent and Context
Search engines can also capture the underlying user intent with the provided context from the user due to conversational queries. Users prefer providing context to virtual assistants for convenience and to reveal their specific needs. Therefore, content that answers highly specific queries is likely to be ranked higher in SEO compared to general content.
4. Optimising Content for Mobile Devices
As the majority of the voice search queries are conducted on a mobile device, it has become important that your websites and content are optimised for mobile devices. Virtual assistants generally answer a query by providing a link that the user could use for further information. If the query has been made from a mobile, having a mobile optimised website will rank you higher in the SEO as it facilitates the users.
5. Rising Importance of Local SEO
Data shows that more than half of voice search queries involve information regarding local businesses. Users often search for businesses by providing a context that they need the results that are easily accessible or near them. This change has increased the importance of your My Business profile that establishes your local presence. You must ensure that the profile has been optimised with positive feedback from you clients.
If you are looking for SEO expertise, get in touch with SEOSyrup now.
What Can You Do to Make Your Content Voice Search Friendly?
In the previous section we saw 5 different ways how voice search has changed SEO and continues to change it day by day. Now let’s look at some ways you can evolve with the changing times to stay ahead of the game.
- Use a conversational tone in your content with the help of natural language to rank higher.
- Explore user intents by carrying in depth research of your audience for providing specific content.
- Ensure your website is optimised for mobile devices providing easy accessibility to users.
- Evaluate your content strategy and explore innovative ways to target voice searchers.
- Build a strong My Business profile that establishes your local presence.
Are you Wondering whether your content is SEO optimised, click here to get a free SEO audit.
Summing it Up
Voice search has captured a huge portion of search queries due to enhanced information accessibility and ignoring it will have a negative impact on your SEO. This is because voice search has enabled users to carry out searches in conversational tones using long-tail keywords and providing context of their queries. In addition, the rise of virtual assistants have increased mobile usage for searches, making it highly important to have a mobile friendly website which is easier to navigate.
To deal with the drastic changes, businesses looking to improve their SEO ranking must ensure that their content is data-driven and responds to the underlying intents of the audience. In addition, providing information in a conversational tone in natural language and establishing a local presence are imminent changes that you should consider as a part of your SEO strategy.
Get in touch with SEOSyrup – we will provide you with the best SEO expertise in the U.K taking your business to the next level with enhanced conversions, online presence and revenues.
