Optimization for Voice Search
Technology never stops progressing and SEO tends in 2018 towards a humanized and personalized experience with users. You probably know Cortana on Microsoft, Google Voice, Google Home or Alexa of Amazon Echo. All these virtual characters are only there to facilitate your research on the internet via your smartphones, tablets or other connected device, simply by asking them orally a question. Even more, some people can even turn on your lights, play music, search for a local restaurant, and more. The major advantage? Access the search without typing on a keyboard. On the other hand, what are the challenges facing SEO professionals? How to optimize for voice search?
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Why optimize for voice search?
Let’s stop for a moment on the concept of featured snippets. A featured snippet is a direct response extracted from a website. For example, if you type “recipe strawberry pie”, Google will automatically put forward an excerpt on the search results page, at the very top. This means that this page is likely to be the one consulted by the user who may not even bother to see the other results a little lower. These sites are actually selected by Google for their excellent ranking in the search results, actually, they are even in the “zero” position. This is one reason why many people – there is an increase of articles about 178% this year – want to optimize their sites for featured snippets.
How does this interest us in relation to voice search? Think like this. When you ask a question to Google Home, it will read you this snippet and quote the name of the website concerned, but also send the link of the site on the application. If we understand better the voice searches that are made, then we better understand what the user expects in the featured snippets, and in this case, it is easier to find the right solutions to arrive in zero position. This allows the site to improve credibility when Google reads the best answers, to drive more traffic from Google Home. Of course, this also benefits Google, because the quality of the answers obtained promotes user satisfaction. Otherwise, if the answers are of poor quality or there is no answer at all, Google loses users who will go to Apple or Amazon.
Better response to consumer needs according to context
It’s interesting to understand the difference between a search on a mobile device and on a computer: for example, the keywords are the same, but the frequency of use of these keywords varies depending on whether it is a mobile or a computer. We see requests like the opening hours of a shop in peak on mobiles. In addition, new categories of requests have emerged on mobile because users have realized that they can make certain requests directly from a GPS or other application, impossible on computer. A typical query would be to look for a business or other near you.
Some voice searches can only be done on devices like Google Home or Google Assistant, such as the schedule for the day ahead. As a result, the user’s behavior changes based on searches. For example, to know the schedules of a store, the request is often the same in writing, namely “Y store schedule.” But with voice search, we can expect a range of synonyms like “what time does the Y store close? »,« Is the Y store still open? “,” Y store schedule “. These data are important to consider as they will determine, among other things, how to optimize a page for voice search. Even more convincing, Google claims that there is 30 times action request using voice search rather than writing. Of course, much more complex searches are done by voice search rather than writing, such as “Google tells Antoine the story of movie Y”.
How to optimize for voice search?
While we had to learn to search by keyword in the search engine bar, the voice search is done in a very natural and conversational tone. It can therefore be imagined that voice searches are much longer than written searches. Voice searches are mostly done on mobile, for local search and by users in motion. Mobile devices then seek to find identifiable, short and consistent content to meet these demands, based on the following criteria:
The research
Voice searches for local content or information are estimated at 22%, making it important for companies to focus on local SEO and voice search. It is essential to create a listing in Google My Business, to record your industry, your address, your phone number, your opening hours and more. Your information must be up-to-date to increase your chances of appearing when a relevant voice search is done.
Keywords:
The keywords for voice search are long-lag +, since these are conversational phrases that will need to be integrated to optimize for voice search. Think about all the questions users might ask, such as those you can ask by phone. Write down the specific words they use and create content pages dedicated to those keywords. Think especially about FAQs to incorporate these long tail keywords +. It is about grouping the common questions on the same page, trying to use a conversational and natural tone for more coherence. Feel free to create multiple pages if it can make it easier for voice search.
Note, for example, that queries like “best camera” are going to disappear to tend to something more specific like “Alexa, where can I find a waterproof camera for my live facebook? “. Answers should be concise. This work will also increase your chances of appearing in a featured snippet.
The contents:
Extend descriptions of your products and services again and again, expand the semantic field of your descriptions, and intelligently organize information to cover all the questions potential users of your products or services may have.
You can optimize for voice search without knowing the most popular queries, however knowing them will allow marketers to help users find exactly what they are looking for by voice command. This SEO work can seem intimidating but will only be rewarding for your business and to be found in the search engines. A little advice before you start: analyze your long trails in depth!
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