People are moving away from traditional ways of searching for whatever they want on the internet. With the advancement in technology, many people, including website owners, want to venture into voice search.
How can you utilize the voice search, a tool that has shown tremendous results in recent days?
How are you going to ensure your site is optimized for voice search? Are there things you need to know before you optimize your website for voice search?
This definitive guide will address those concerns and other delicate things you may have in mind about this new phenomenon that is changing how people search on the internet.
Let’s start the discussion …
Voice Search Revolution
Why would we say that the voice search is a true revolution? Well, a few yet credible statistics indicate that we are indeed in the heart of a revolution. Let’s face it …
Recent research into how people search for information on the internet shows that over 55% of teens and over 41% of adults, who want to find out something from the internet, use voice search.
That is not all!
The same research goes on to show that 20% of all searches carried out on Google each day come from voice searches. What does that tell you? The simple answer is, “Voice search is the new revolution.”
The other interesting this is how people are utilizing Windows 10. Yes, with the latest version of Windows, you are able to speak to your desktop as you could to your Smart watch.
Lastly, on a scale of 1 to 10, more than 6 people agree that life would be very difficult without using voice-activated devices.
To that end, it is reasonable to believe that by the end of 2020; more than 50% of the searches on the internet will be entirely on voice search.
As a website owner, is there anything you need to know about voice search? What can you do to improve your site’s voice search tool? What are the benefits of using Google voice search as opposed to typing? You will learn all these questions in this guide.
SEO For Voice Search
Even as we talk about voice search, many questions arise. For instance, you may ask, ‘what is the difference between voice search and normal Google searches?’ The following section answers that question.
How is Voice Search Different from Traditional Search?
For a long time, people have searched for various things online using a traditional means–typing on their computers or phones.
As tipped by its name, a voice search is talking to your gadget. You simply command the gadget or computer using your voice.
Depending on a few things such as signal strength, your geo-location, and the strength of the microphone, you will get the precise results as if you were typing.
The other main difference you might like is how effective voice search turns out to be.
For instance, when you type your search queries, chances are you avoid certain things that are important in any traditional conversation such as salutation. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean you are going to introduce yourself to a search engine.
However, a candid approach matters. Look at this typical example on what people do when they type and what you are likely to do when you are voicing yours search:
Example #1: Traditional Typing Search
“Cleaning mop head”
Or
“How to clean mop head”
Example #2 Voice Search
“Hey Alexa, how do I clean a mop head?”
Or
“Hey Alexa, how can I clean a mop head in a washing machine/dishwasher?”
Alternatively, you’d say
“Hey Alexa, how can I clean a mop head the right way?”
Perhaps, you’ve noticed that in example #2, the voice search, the tone is more conversational, leading to better search results.
With voice search’s longer keywords, chances of landing better results are almost inexcusable. That is what you want!
You don’t want to spend the whole day on the search engine typing a few isolated keywords without getting the right results.
The Rise and The Importance of Using Voice Search Share on X
How Voice Search Changes Where People Search?
Thanks to voice search’s convenience, many people are now searching for ‘near me’ phrases. This is particularly important because voice search is more conversational.
As such, many people are now searching for virtually anything than before.
For instance, people search for public washrooms, restaurants, gyms, restrooms, eateries, movie theaters, and local businesses. In the end, people are able to find whatever they want using the ‘near me’ tag.
In fact, Google now reports that the ‘near me’ searches have risen from a meager 60% two years ago to a whopping 150% in 2020. That alone is a clear indicator that voice search is bringing local businesses to a limelight than before.
Here is a typical example to explain the voice search revolutionary:
Suppose you were traveling to Chicago and coincidentally, you smear your white shirt with chocolate or ice cream. If you were in the early 2000s, you would wait until you reach a public place near you, ask a stranger or if lucky, head into a cyber café, which evidently someone had to guide you to type ‘public washroom in Chicago.’
Things are different now.
Today, you simply whip your Android or Wi-Fi enabled phone from your pocket and do a quick yet concise voice search of a ‘public washroom near me.’ Immediately, you’ll be directed as if you have frequented the town whereas in fact, you are a total stranger!
Voice Search Changes How People Get Search Results
In the past, when people depended entirely on traditional searching techniques of doing a simple typing, various websites had a high number of organic clicks. That is not happening now.
In fact, many websites have dropped their organic clicks from over 75% to a meager 37% and this number keeps going down. Why are websites losing organic searches? The basic reason is voice search, which has transformed the search engine from what it used to be to a more convenient thing, the ‘answer engine.’
It is understandable that no one would want to waste time to read a 5000-word document, however well written it may be, to find the answer, when the answer you are looking for is right in front of your screen, simple and straightforward, as you want it.
To elaborate, let’s assume you want to know the amount of calories in a strawberry.
In those days, you’d be forced to type, ‘strawberry calories’, or ‘calories in a strawberry.’
Before you got the right answer, it could force you to compare more than 8 results (8 different websites).
Besides, it would take you several minutes to compare those websites because you do not know at which point the author will decide to answer your question.
Thankfully, things have changed a great deal. You don’t have to go through that agonizing journey to find the right answer. In fact, the answer is ahead of you.
Put simply, a voice search provides you the right answer within seconds. You don’t have to waste any more time clicking and perusing different websites.
However, we all want to know the big question, how does voice search affect content creators or website owners? We’ll address this question in a short while.
For now, it is prudent to conclude that Google voice searches are quick, prompt, and precise. In other words, if you want straight to the point answers, stick to the voice search.
How To Conduct An In-depth Voice Keyword Research?
By now, it is easy to say that voice searches are the thing. However, how to go about the search is important. Remember, as mentioned earlier, voice searches are precise and straight to the point.
In a nutshell, instead of focusing on things that were seen important at one point such as CPC, search volume, and seasonal trends, go for keywords that are more conversational in nature.
In other words, the search engine is shifting from giving results on keywords it seems robotic and it is now replacing it with meaningful and conversational keywords.
As a content creator, do not be afraid to go out of your way.
For instance, as more and more people shift from using traditional search techniques such as typing on the search bar, and deciding to use voice search, they demonstrate that they are willing to speak freely to the voice search engine.
Take up the challenge and change how things go. Take charge and revolutionize how the voice search works. For your information, a huge chunk of content creators avoids the use of insanely long keywords. Don’t join the bandwagon.
They reason that very few people are searching for extra-long keywords. That is not true.
What used to look long in the 90s is extremely shorter now, and what looked longer than 10 years ago is considered short.
Simply don’t avoid those extra long keywords. They are the next big thing because they yield in the MOST precise search results.
Ideally, doing a keyword with 5 or so words is not a bad idea. The other thing you may want to try is to sprinkle the long keywords throughout the content.
Google loves to scroll through the content, and if it finds the same words used repeatedly, it is most likely going mark them useful for a voice search answer.
Apart from extra-long keywords, you might also want to include other forms of keywords. In fact, if you try voice search keyword variations, chances are you will reap big.
Here is another trick you may want to capitalize on:
Question Keywords
What are question keywords? How and where will you place them? How effective are question keywords?
To be honest, many people who decide to use voice search actually ask questions. Do you remember some of the examples you’ve read in this blog post? Here are a few of them …
From the above snippet, the voice searches have one thing in common – they are all questions, yes, question keywords.
Typically, if you want quick answers from a voice search, you are probably going to ask a question rather than speak a statement to your iPhone or computer mic. That way, you will help your readers find the right answers to well-thought questions.
With those few question keywords in your fingertips, it is time we shift our focus on the next thing – how to optimize your article effectively around the seemingly long keywords and question-targeted keywords.
How To Optimize Your Content For Better Voice Search?
After such a candid discussion on the various statistics surrounding the nature and use of voice search, it is now time to delve into the real gist – how you can optimize your content for voice search like a pro.
Just before we continue, it is important to know that people write content for different reasons. Some websites you stumble upon when you are carrying out a simple typing search are not necessarily what you should have found.
Some sites have been ranking for months, perhaps years not because they have quality content than yours but because of the following three things:
Domain Authority
This means the site was registered many years ago and has retained online presence for decades. Some sites were started at a time when few people knew about setting up businesses online. As such, these sites tend to command online presence.
It is just like the West Wing that was built in 1902. That is over 118 years ago. Now, think of that!
Suppose you want to build a house that looks like West Wing or the Oval Office and even go ahead to name it the same. If you think that will change people’s perception on the original West Wing or Oval Office, you are mistaken!
People’s Perception
This second reason is debatable. However, changing what many people think about a particular site or company is really hard.
For instance, if people believ