With more and more people using voice searches every day, marketers need to start implementing strategies to rank for these searches. That’s right, we’re talking about VSO: voice search optimisation!
1 Keep it real
With traditional internet queries, users would enter their keywords into Google to search for a product or service. Therefore, marketers got used to dealing in these abrupt, fragmented keywords. Now, with voice search on the rise, marketers need to look more at naturally flowing speech patterns. While most keyword research tools are similarly focused on written keywords, check out Answer the Public, great tool for speech-based phrases.
2 Get local
It’s no surprise that voice searches are typically used when you’re on-the-go. Therefore, a lot of these queries are seeking local information. In fact, half of local mobile voice searches lead to a store visit within just one day. Optimise your website for voice search by focusing on being local. This entails getting your Google My Business listing up-to-date and include as much vital information as possible within your page’s meta description. Include the phrase “near me” on your website where appropriate, and use local keywords.
3 Take a step back
Okay, so now we’re going to go back to Melbourne SEO basics because it really does have a big impact on voice search. As we mentioned above, most voice search is conducted on mobile, therefore, in order to optimise for voice search, there are no two ways about it, you must SEO for mobile. Not sure if you’ve got a good mobile friendly site that Google would favour? Try the Mobile-Friendly Test. Pass the test, my friends, and you’re well on your way to ranking well for voice search
4 Be a Google moment
Trust Google to come up with a term for those spontaneous questions that pop into your head… and cause you to you reach for your phone. They’re now called micro-moments, and marketers can use these to get front and centre when their audience make a search. Micro-moments are:
“I want to know…”
“I want to go…”
“I want to do…”
“I want to buy…”
Optimise your website to address these questions, and you’ll get closer to the top of voice search results.
5 Become a snippet
Use the concept of micro-moments to become a Google snippet. Google snippets are those little paragraphs that Google shows which answer your question, usually drawn from the top ranking result. One way of doing this is by including questions in your web copy along with the answer to those questions, so when a user asks a question, Google will be more likely to turn up your answer. Another strategy for becoming a Google snippet is to look at the existing Google snippet for your relevant queries, and answer the question better.