How to Optimize Your Website for Voice Search

Voice search is becoming more popular and convenient as more people use smart speakers, smartphones and voice assistants to search for information. According to a report by Juniper Research, the voice-based market size could reach $99 billion by 2026. This means that business owners need to adapt their SEO strategy to capture this growing market.

But how do you optimize your website for voice search? Voice search is different from text search in many ways. When we talk to our devices, we phrase our queries differently, closer to how we speak in real life. We also tend to use longer, more specific queries reflecting our intent and context. And we expect fast and accurate answers that match our needs.

In this article, we will share tips and examples on optimizing your website for voice search and reaching more potential customers.

1.Use Long, Conversational Keywords

The most distinguishing feature of voice searches is using long sentences like you would use when talking to someone. For example, instead of typing “best pizza near me”, someone might say, “Hey, Google, where can I get the best pizza in Miami?”.

To rank for these queries, you must use long, conversational keywords matching the user’s intent and tone. For example, you can use your website’s questions, FAQs, how-tos, and guides to provide relevant and valuable answers.

You can also use tools like AnswerThePublic or SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find common questions and long-tail keywords related to your topic. For example, if you are a pizza place in Miami, you might find questions like “What are the best toppings for pizza?” or “How do I order pizza online?”.

2.Focus on Local SEO

Another characteristic of voice searches is that many focus on local searches. People often look for nearby businesses, services and directions when they use voice search. For example, they might say, “Alexa, what are the nearest spas near me?” or “Siri, how do I get to the food truck festival?”.

To optimize for local searches, you must claim and update your Google Business Profile (GBP), use local keywords and schema markup, and get positive customer reviews and ratings.

Your Google Business Profile is a free listing that shows up on Google Maps and local search results. It provides information like your name, address, phone number, opening hours, website and menu. You need to claim your profile and ensure all the information is accurate and consistent across platforms.

You must also use local keywords and schema markup on your website to help Google understand your location and services. Local keywords are keywords that include your city, state or neighborhood name. For example, you can use keywords like “best pizza in Miami”, “Miami pizza delivery” or “pizza near Miami beach” on your website and meta tags.

Schema markup is a code you can add to your website to provide structured data to Google. It helps Google display rich snippets like ratings, reviews, prices and availability on the search results page. For example, you can use schema markup to provide information like your address, phone number, opening hours and menu to Google.

Positive customer reviews and ratings on Google, Yelp and other platforms boost your credibility and visibility. Reviews and ratings are social proof that shows how satisfied your customers are with your products and services. They also influence the ranking of your website on local search results.

3.Optimize for Mobile Devices

Voice searches are mostly done on mobile devices, so you need to ensure your website is mobile-friendly and fast-loading. A mobile-friendly website is a website that adapts to different screen sizes and devices without compromising the user experience. A fast-loading website is a website that loads quickly without making the user wait too long.

To optimize for mobile devices, you need to use responsive design, compress images and videos, minify code and enable caching. You can also use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and PageSpeed Insights to check and improve your website’s performance on mobile devices.

Responsive design allows your website to adjust its layout and content according to the device’s screen size and orientation. It ensures that your website looks good and works well on any device.

Compressing images and videos mean reducing their file size without losing their quality. It helps your website load faster by saving bandwidth and storage space.

Minifying code means removing unnecessary characters and spaces from your HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. It helps your website load faster by reducing the amount of data that needs to be transferred.

Enabling caching means storing some of your website’s data on the user’s browser or server. It helps your website load faster by reducing the number of requests that need to be made to your server.

4.Create Solution-Focused Content

Voice searches are often solution-focused, meaning people seek answers to their problems or needs. They want to find the best, easiest or fastest way to do something or get something. For example, they might say, “Ok, Google, how do I fix a leaky faucet?” or “Cortana, what are some easy recipes for dinner?”.

To optimize for solution-focused searches, your content has to provide clear, concise and helpful solutions to your audience’s pain points. It is key to understand your audience’s intent, challenges and goals and provide them with relevant and valuable information.

You can also use the inverted pyramid writing style to structure your content. This means that you start with the most critical information first, followed by the supporting details and then the background information. This way, you can capture the user’s attention and give them the answer they want as quickly as possible.

Using bullet points, subheadings, images and videos to break up your content can make it easier to scan and digest. Also important are call-to-actions to guide the user to the next step or action they need to take.

5.Optimize Your Site Speed

Site speed is another crucial factor that affects your voice search ranking. Users expect fast and seamless experiences when they use voice search. They don’t want to wait for your website to load or deal with slow or broken pages.

According to Google, the average mobile page takes 15 seconds to load, but 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. A one-second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.

To optimize your site speed, follow the same steps as optimizing for mobile devices, such as compressing images and videos, minifying code and enabling caching. Utilize tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to measure and improve your site speed.

The content delivery network (CDN) can also assist you to speed up your site delivery. A CDN is a server network distributed across different locations and regions. It helps your website load faster by delivering your content from the server that is closest to the user’s location.

Conclusion

Voice search is changing the SEO landscape; you need to be ready for it. By following these tips and examples, you can optimize your website for voice search and reach more potential customers.

If you need any help with your SEO strategy, feel free to contact us at Miami SEM. We are a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, SEM, content and digital ads.