Think Voice Search! This is How You Optimize It.

We are in an era of gadget proliferation, where mobile devices are on the lead. The pattern and method in which people are using voice search on their mobile devices is changing. People are also being inclined towards making use of voice assistants like, Amazon Echo & Google Home devices. Siri is our best buddy, if you are a proud iPhone user. Google once again is a popular choice for voice search on Android devices, whereas Microsoft’s Cortana is an excellent & useful choice for voice searches on the PC & smartphone.

As per Hitwise, about 60% of searches on the internet are now performed on Mobile devices. Smartphone users now prefer doing a voice search instead of typing on small screens.
Considering the mobile voice search revolution. It is time SEO professionals think differently- Voice search is a very hot topic among futuristic SEO professionals. To make things easy for the talented SEO guys, here are great tips that can help Optimize Content for Voice Search & virtual Assistants”.

An all new arena for Search
We cannot deny that smartphones and smart home devices are taking over the digital space in our lives, with digital assistants like Google Assistant, Cortana & Siri. The new voice search technology has made it way simpler and easy for people to search for information. This technology allows a more natural and human way of interacting with machines making use of conversational voice.
Using voice search there is so much that you can do, just by using a voice command. Turn on or put off the lights, order a pizza, book for the movies and so much more. Interconnectivity between devices is commendable.
The million-dollar question for SEO professionals is – How can a content SEO strategy be created for voice search?

We tell you how, you can optimize voice search
Since, the introduction of search engines in the 1990’s, users have become familiar and succinct with keyword phrases to find information they are looking for. Different from keyword search, voice search makes the information seeking process more conversational. Voice search is typically mobile and focuses locally.
For Example: When Mr. A, travels to San Jose from New York City, the smart phone understands the location of Mr. A and assists him in his searches based on his location.
This happens because, voice queries are in the conversational pattern, and longer than the usual search text. All that we need to remember is, the purpose of this new technology is to provide best results for on-the-go searchers.

We present to you a few tips to optimize voice search

Know what people are searching for?
As per Internet Trends Report 2016, people make use of voice search for multiple things. An estimate states that, approximately 22percent of the searches are done for local information and content. Hence, it is important to optimize for local search.

Business Listing
It is important to claim for Google My Business Listing, if you still haven’t done it, don’t waste any more time. Claiming and optimizing Google My Business, is a phenomenal way for Google to be able to find out more about your business. It gathers important information like, phone, address, business hours & more.

Conversational Keywords
Keywords in voice search are longtail +. The plus sign here refers to the conversational phrase that needs to be added when you decide to optimize for conversational voice process. Now the keyword strategy should be more conversational, it should reflect how people talk and indulge in asking questions verbally. Create content pages based on keywords acquired by searching for them, thinking about Realtime human conversations.

FAQ Pages
The best way to make use of pre-mentioned customer data is to go ahead and create FAQ pages. The focus of these pages must be on those long tail + conversational keyword phrases. It is a best practice to club common questions on one single page. It is recommended to go for natural-sounding questions and phrases that are used on routine basis. If need arises to create multiple pages for voice search technologies to attract information from the website, don’t hesitate, just go ahead and do it.
It is equally important to anticipate direct questions that come from searchers. We understand that it can be a daunting task, but creating these individual pages & snippets can increase the chances of appearing in Google “Featured Snippets”.

Structured Data Mark Up
It is vital to make use of structured data markup (by applying correct schemas), this will give voice search devices additional information about the site and its content.
Structured data markup from schema.org is essential for the website, as it does the job of defining specific information making it easier for search engines to more precisely parse the content and understand its meaning.

New arena for SEO
Voice search is here to stay. So, it’s time for SEO professionals to get going and optimize sites making them voice search ready. So, join the brigade and don’t be left behind.