‘Hey, Alexa! What are the best Mexican restaurants near me?’
Sound familiar?
Whether you are using your own voice-activated digital assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri, or have had a one-time encounter with a friend’s voice-activated device, it’s hard to deny that these devices are slowly creeping into our everyday lives.
But that’s not all. The content for voice-activated devices is also changing because of how everyday consumers are changing the way they search.
Opening Google and typing out a question is easily a thing of the past as people are getting used to transforming their thoughts into instant responses. With all these transformations, it’s important for businesses and content creators to change their strategies to match the tide.
The numbers don’t lie
Voice-activated devices and digital assistants are all the rage. Even TV shows like ‘Black Mirror’ can’t resist adding entire episodes where voice-activated devices are seemingly taking over lives.
Today, it’s estimated that 4.2 billion people are using voice-activated devices and assistants around the world—this figure is expected to grow to 8.4 billion by 2024.
If you think that people are just using these devices to listen to music, ask for directions, or even get the latest weather report, you’re not thinking big enough. 58% of people use voice search to look for business information. Even 34% of the Gen Z population are open to making a purchase using a voice-activated ordering system.
The numbers should give many businesses a reason to pause as they could be missing out on big opportunities if they’re not optimising their content for voice-activated devices.
Get ahead in the race to optimisation
Long-tail keywords and conversational language. These are arguably two of the most important factors you need to keep an eye out for when optimising your content for voice search queries. But there are other ways that your business can be found; by improving your website speed and mobile-friendliness and optimising for snippets.
When you answer the specific questions that people are asking, you can improve search rankings and hike up visibility. Don’t overlook local SEO and targeting question keywords—all of these methods combined can help your users who search using their digital assistants and smartphones have a much better experience.
But let’s get specific and take a look at some of the ways to perform voice search optimisation.
Target the right keyword questions
Using long-tail keywords and the natural language that people use when they speak should be at the top of your list. There are many tools out there like Google’s Keyword Planner that can help you find common question keywords that relate to your topic.
In these types of queries, context is important. Using tools like scheme markup can help search engines understand the context of the question. It will even help you prioritise your local SEO so that voice searchers in your area can find you easily. Doing this will help you rank high in voice search results while still keeping user experience and traditional SEO practices in place.
Know the relevance of local listings
Local listings are important for businesses that depend on their local communities for a large chunk of their business and increasing local listing relevance in voice search optimisation can make sure that accurate and up-to-date information is provided. Your business can also appear higher in search results for SEO, Google, or any other search engine.
To make sure your content is optimised the way you need it to be, use keywords that are related to the products and services you offer or your business location. You should also try to regularly monitor and update listings to make sure that all voice searches get accurate responses.
Understand long-tail keywords
When people make voice searches, they usually use more conversational queries that are commonly referred to as long-tail keywords. To rank higher, it’s important to identify the most relevant long-tail keywords for your content with tools like Google’s Keyword Planner.
It’s important to make sure that the content you create answers the specific questions of the user instead of just focusing on keyword optimisation. Using natural language and conversational phrases that match how people talk in real life in voice searches can improve your chances of appearing on top of search results.
The time to adapt content for voice-activated devices is now
The world we live in is shaped by voice search, and adapting your content for voice-activated devices is important.
By optimising these strategies for voice-activated devices, there is a whole realm of local SEO possibilities that you can unlock. By embracing this transformative technology, you can climb to the top of the digital landscape and make your mark in the world of voice-activated devices and digital assistants.