How Do I Optimise My Site for Voice Search? Top tips for 2021.

Voice-search-optimisation-in-2021-Vindicta-Digital
( How Do I Optimise My Site for Voice Search? Top tips for 2021 was first published in 2020 and updated with new information for 2021. )

What exactly is voice search?

Voice search allows users to speak into a device as opposed to typing keywords into a search query to generate results. Audio technology uses speech recognition to understand what users are saying with extreme precision. It then delivers results orally to the user.

In recent years, voice search growth has increased enormously. Especially with the introduction of smart speaker devices including the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and other voice assistants. The growing popularity of these devices means that voice search is no longer just a fancy gadget feature, but that it has been integrated into our lives to improve the convenience of daily tasks.

2021 is expected to be the year of voice search. More and more consumers are using voice to run search engine queries, find local businesses, make purchase decisions, and more. And when consumers search for local businesses with their voices, they usually engage with those businesses in the same way — by calling.

Below, we’ve compiled the top tips to optimize your business for voice search in 2021 that you need to know to succeed in a voice-first world.

How Voice Search Impacts SEO Rankings

Thanks to innovations like Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa, voice search technology has come a long way. As technology has gotten better, it’s also gotten more popular. In fact, the percentage of households predicted to own a smart speaker by 2022 is 55%.

In the pursuit of optimizing for voice search, meticulous attention to keywords is paramount. Discern extended phrases that mirror colloquial speech patterns. Voice queries thrive on organic, lengthy expressions, resonating more with natural language. In contrast, typed searches often favor brevity and abbreviations. For instance, a voice query could be, “What are the latest SEO trends for 2021?” while a typed inquiry might read, “new SEO trends 2021.” Tailoring your strategy to this nuanced distinction maximizes your voice search efficacy.

Getting ahead of the curve 

The ability to undertake searches by voice changed user expectations about speed and ease of accessing relevant information. So how to prepare for voice search is a question that should be top of mind for every business owner. Especially heading into 2020. It’s never been more important to make sure as a business you understand your target audience, their behaviours, motivations, and needs.

So, what can you and your business do to get ahead and provide your users with a great voice search experience? Give us a shout at Vindicta to get a better understanding of the digital marketing campaigns and see your business skyrocket in the SEO rankings.

1.Optimize For Question-Based Keywords

On average, humans speak 150 words at the same time it would take them to type 40, so voice search queries become longer and more conversational in tone.

Question-based keywords include:“how-to”, “why”, “when”, “where”, etc.

Most voice searches start with question phrases such as who, why, how, etc. Therefore, it is important to figure out the way your audience speaks when searching for your business or products.

2. Pay Attention To The Site Speed, Themes And Plugins

To fully enjoy the functionality of voice search in 2021, you need to have a quick loading page.

A fast loading page will also have a significant impact on your WordPress search rankings.

Voice search is almost exclusively used on mobile, and it goes without saying that your website should be mobile-optimized. If it’s not, then users will simply bounce back, which will harm your rankings.

With this in mind at Vindicta, we always make sure to design only those sites which will work flawlessly on every platform, with the mobile generation always in our minds when building your website.

3. Avoid Using Jargons In Your Content

People tend to use a more natural and conversational language when doing voice searches. This means your content must first match with the search term in order to appear on the top of SERPs.

The simpler your language is, the higher the chances of your content coming up on voice search results.

Check for your content’s readability on tools like Grammarly. Where all you need to do is paste your content on the app to get its readability level and helpful tips to improve it and phrases to use.

4.Position zero optimization

Google will continuously look for answers to questions that may arise out of voice searches.

You could play a vital role by becoming the go-to place for those answers. Not only will you get excellent exposure for any content you put out, but you will also optimize for the typical queries that may arise.

Getting to position zero is difficult because they’re so many people fighting for that little space.

You, therefore, need to work on strategies that will improve the chances of appearing in that coveted position. You can do this by following the next steps:

  • Focus on any questions that may arise out of the keywords; whether long tail or short, that you have come up with i.e: SEO Belfast, SEO Liverpool, SEO Manchester, SEO Leeds.
  • Think about the headings and titles you use; they should always be a direct response to a query
  • Ensure your answers are easy to read and understand
  • Incorporate the use of bullet points, numbered lists and short paragraphs
  • Q&A style for your content will make it convenient for search engines to use your content

Always strive to be on that first page on Google. The search engine and other visitors will gravitate towards

Another point worth considering is the application of small keywords into your everyday content, do you see what I did above? I have included the keywords for our office’s top locations. If an interested client clicks through the keyword it will direct him to our website. This also makes a bigger name for your business and helps you out with your SEO rankings.

To find out more about the best tips for writing content read our article on it here.

5. Local SEO Implementation

Using the right keywords to describe your location will impact the number of visitors you get to your physical store.

Think about the common phrases people in your neighbourhood to describe your location. Strategically position phrases such as near me in the Meta descriptions, internal links, and anchor text and title tags.

It would also not hurt to include a landmark which will make your location that much easier to find.

Another common phrase that people seek is ” things to do near me.” Incorporate this into your content, thus helping you push your product or brand.

If you are for example running a digital marketing agency, a direct response to ” what’s the best SEO agency  in Northern Ireland’ could be ‘ Try Vindicta Digital in Belfast ‘

You should structure your data in a way that makes it easier for the visitors to get as much information as possible. The use of words such as nearest, best and store hours will help you initially be discovered by the searching engines.

Make sure that you add also your contact details and office opening hours. It will make it easier to process the data, thus making it likely for people to find you.

You should structure your data in a way that makes it easy for the visitor to get as much information as possible. The use of words such as nearest, best, and store hours will help the search engines find you. Make sure you add your contact details and office opening hours. It will make it easy to process the data, thus making it likely for people to find you.

6. Google my Business Listing

At Vindicta Digital, we can’t stress enough on the importance of Google my Business for everyone’s business journey. It is an essential tool that you should most definitely sign up in order to bring in more customers.

It will make it easy for your customers to find you, especially those in the local area. You also get the opportunity to share more business information, thus making it easier for the search engines to find you.

Just like mentioned in the previous point: by using location, or specific phrases like ‘ near me’ you increase the chances of visibility on the search engines.

Be careful about the information you have on your listing page. Include your name, physical address, and telephone number. Use the intro due to give a proper description of your services and products.

Link what you have to the different categories; doing this will help when online buyers use the voice search functionality.

7. Use Structured Data Markup

By now, you’ve probably figured out that voice search results hinge heavily on things like featured snippets and business listings to deliver quick results to customers.

This is solely owing to the fact that these types of data are available as direct responses to customer questions on voice search.

Something that works along the same lines to provide accurate and rich data to customers about a website or a business is structured data markup.

Structured data allows you to get more info about events, menus, price range, etc. from a business directly on search engines, allowing them to use this data whenever users need it.

Structured data helps search engines read and present information about your website in a much quicker and more efficient manner, so it’s a win-win for both the business and the searcher.

Final Words on Voice Search 

While voice search SEO is a little different than traditional SEO, it still follows most of the basic SEO principles — through a strong understanding of the specific things you need to do for voice and wearable tech search will ensure that your website is properly optimized.

This also involves optimising your website for mobile SEO and diving deeper into other SEO basics in 2021 to ensure that they’re all in place.

If you need more information on SEO optimisation and would like to work with us in 2021, contact us here

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