How To Rock SEO In The Era Of Voice Search & Wearable Tech

With the rise of wearable technologies, voice search has started evolving and redefining the digital marketing landscape as we know it. Its main aim is to boost user experience, making our search queries smoother and conversational. Moreover, voice search ensures each user gets the most relevant answer, from a reliable source, as fast as possible. For you as a marketer, this is a great opportunity to get yourself noticed by the right audiences and drive loads of qualified leads to your site.

However, to do so, you need to optimize your site for voice search and here is how.

#1 Optimize For Long-Tail Keywords

Why are text-based search queries short? The answer is simple – to let us get relevant answers fast by typing just a few words into Google’s search bar. However, wearable tech is making things much simpler. Our smartphones and voice-enabled search let us interact with the search engine without having to look at the screen. Unsurprisingly, the phrases we use to conduct voice searches are getting more organic, resembling a real-life conversation. In fact, Google’s research claims that 70% of voice search queries are based on a natural language.

We can finally say that Matt Cutts was right when he claimed the following: “You don’t want to just say ‘Mount Everest elevation.’ You want to say words like ‘how high is Mount Everest’ because people are going to type ‘how high is Mount Everest?’”

In other words, voice search queries are usually in the form of a sentence and you need to optimize your site for them. Targeting exact-match phrases doesn’t make sense anymore. You need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and see what phrases they would use when conducting voice searches and capture long-tail and question-based keywords. To see how your customers interact with search engines, also pay attention to Q&A sites and relevant forums in your niche.

#2 Get Listed On Online Directories

Google’s Assistant doesn’t show the searchers as many results as the traditional text search. Instead, it focuses on the one it considers the most relevant. So, chances are your site won’t always appear in front of your target audience. This is why appearing on online business listings matters. According to a recent article on local SEO by Elevate Digital, a Hong Kong-based SEO agency, this practice will boost your exposure, help you generate qualified leads, and make more sales.

As Google is presenting the search results based on local intent and relevancy, it may choose to show business listings first for a related search. Most importantly, apart from boosting your online visibility, a link from an authoritative business local directory is also important for your backlink portfolio.

Some of the most popular local business directories you should know of are:

• Google My Business
• LinkedIn Company Directory
• Facebook
• Apple Maps
• Yelp
• Angie’s List

#3 Improve Page Load Time

With the latest Google Speed Update, page speed has become a ranking factor for mobile devices, too. Apart from boosting user experience and rankings, this ranking factor also plays a fundamental role in voice search optimization. Why?

I already mentioned that, when a user asks the Google Assistant a question, it needs to give a relevant answer quickly. So, if your site loads slowly, Google will simply ignore it. Backlinko claims the same. Namely, while the average page loading speed is 8.8 seconds, voice search results load in less than 4.6 seconds.

There are a lot of ways to speed up your site, such as:

• Compressing your image and cropping them
• Minifying your codes
• Investing in a CDN (content delivery network)
• Choosing a reliable web hosting provider and investing in the right plan for your business

#4 Optimize Your Content For Voice Search

Content marketing lets you position yourself as a credible online resource, engage your readers, boost your visibility in the SERPs, and earn loads of high-authority links. The golden rule of blogging is creating industry-specific, informative, and interactive content that brings value to your target readers. However, to optimize it for voice search, here are a few additional steps you need to take.

Write Longer Content

Many studies have already proven that long-form content performs better on Google. The same goes for voice search. And, the reason is obvious. More words give your content a greater chance to match your customers’ search queries and show up in voice search results. But, this doesn’t mean you should add loads of fluff text to produce longer articles. The relevancy and user-friendliness of your content should be your paramount.

Harness The Power Of Your FAQ Page

Most of voice search queries are question-based. And, as your FAQ page includes your customers’ most common questions, it allows you to appear in search results for these questions. To get the most out of this page, you should optimize your answers, as well. As Google prefers concise and highly informative search results, write 30-word answers and include your most significant long-tail keywords organically.

Simplify Your Content

Google has published comprehensive voice search guidelines, where they highlight the importance of your content’s elocution. Simply put, you need to make your content easy to pronounce, articulate, and understand. Keep in mind that people use simple, conversational language when conducting a search. And, your content needs to be written in the same manner. Replace complex sentences and industry-specific terms with everyday words that are easy to pronounce and you’re golden.

Write Local Content

Statistics emphasize that 22% of voice search queries are based on gaining local information. Therefore, to get noticed by the right audiences, you need to focus on creating locally-relevant articles. Your local SEO practices should be integrated into every aspect of your strategy, from using local keywords to creating the content relevant to your local searchers.

#5 Use Schema Markup

When searching for local businesses, people want to find out more about them. This is why business listings and featured snippets are vital to your voice search optimization. But, how to ensure that your site will appear in front of your local searchers?

This is where structured data (schema markup) shines. It contains the most important details about your site, ensuring that Google will find you and offer your site as a reliable source to your target audience.

#6 Invest In Responsive Design

Wearable technology is the heart of voice search. It’s not surprising at all, given that 1 in 5 voice searches is conducted via mobile devices. And, if your site appears in search results, chances are a user will click on it to learn more about you. This is why you need to optimize your site for wearable devices.

You need to pay attention to how your content is presented to your mobile searchers. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test may help you audit your site’s mobile friendliness. The next step is optimization. Wearable technology is all about responsiveness, simplicity, and enhanced interaction. And, your UX design needs to align with these principles.

Make it easy for a mobile user to click on tappable elements on your page (e.g. calls to action or links), simplify your navigation menu to help them find the information faster, and keep your customers in the so-called “thumb zone”. Don’t forget the readability of your content. Use bold and legible fonts, remove intrusive ads and similar distractions, and break the lengthy text into smaller, easily digestible sections. Finally, you could invest in Google’s gorgeous AMPs to boost page speed and deliver exceptional user experiences.

Over To You

The mobile-first era we live in has triggered a rapid development of voice-enabled search and gave us the opportunity to take customer experiences to the next level. You just need to know how to use SEO and UX design to boost your exposure and appeal to your voice searchers. And, the tactics mentioned above may be a solid basis for your further voice search optimization.

 

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