When you’ve worked hard on a kick-ass piece of content, you want it to be seen by the masses. And when we say masses, we mean the masses. After all, creating valuable and interesting content, whether it’s a video, a blog piece, or even a podcast, takes up a lot of valuable time and energy. You probably already know how important SEO (search engine optimisation) is for your content, and you’ve probably already optimised your content for it. But it’s not getting the attention it deserves, so now what?
While partnering with an SEO marketing agency can provide you with the expertise and tools to elevate your content’s reach effectively, there are also steps you can take on your own to enhance your content for voice search.
The Increasing Prevalence Of Voice Search
It’s perhaps not something that’s commonly thought of as optimisable, but all of us do it these days. How many times have you pulled your phone out of your pocket or asked your Alexa some information you didn’t know? Voice search has risen dramatically over the past few years, with over 70% of people saying they prefer to use voice search instead of typing it. So, that’s why optimising your content for voice search is a good idea, and here are 7 steps you can take to do that.
Use Conversational Language
When it comes to voice optimisation, there’s less of a need to be formal with your language. People are likely to ask their device for something in the natural way they’d speak rather than being more formal. For example, a typed version of a search might be “Panda suit london”, but a voice search might be something more like “Where can I find a panda suit in London?”.
You can find variations of these questions by using Google’s ‘People also ask’ section and click through the other suggestions. Add all of these suggestions to your content, and you’ll be more likely to rank higher in voice searches.
Be More Local
Businesses often need to pay more attention to how powerful local SEO can be, and the same goes for voice search. You need to make sure your Google Business Profile is up to date.
Once you’ve done this, you can then optimise all of your content that refers to your location (brick and mortar business location) so that people in your local area will land on that content when they’re searching for what you’ve got to offer. Using the example above, think about what phrases they might use when searching for your content.
Know Who You’re Talking To
While you want to sound professional, if your tone of voice (including in your content) doesn’t appeal to them, then you won’t rank in voice searches. If your target audience are men between the ages of 21 and 35, think about the things they’d say to each other and also while searching for something. You might have to adjust your tone of voice or language slightly. It could be something like, “Where can I find a funny panda suit for a stag do?”. Your voice optimisation efforts will start working once you grasp who you’re targeting.
Research Voice Keywords
Voice keywords work slightly differently to regular keywords in written content. You need to think about long tail keywords, conversational keywords and also question keywords like “how,” “what,” “why,” and “where”. Using the example above again for all three of these types of keywords, you might use some phrases like:
- How to find a panda suit in London
- Where to find an extra large panda suit
- Does London have a costume store with panda suits?
- Can I rent a panda suit near me?
This list isn’t exhaustive, sure, but it’s a start in boosting your rankings.
Speed Up Your Website & Make It Mobile-Friendly
Finally, the speed of your website means everything in this day and age. You have milliseconds to capture someone’s attention, and even if you’ve put the hard work in with your regular and voice SEO if your site doesn’t load quickly, they’re simply going to look elsewhere. So, make sure that you make sure your site is running as quickly as possible. You can do this by making image sizes smaller and limiting redirects around your website.
You also need to think about how mobile-friendly your website is. Most devices used to search (especially by voice) are smartphones or other handheld devices. Make sure your site is design responsive so that you don’t lose out on potential customers that could bring in a lot of money for your business.
Optimise For Featured Snippets
Google’s featured snippets are often the source of voice search answers, as they provide quick and direct answers to users’ questions. To optimise for featured snippets, structure your content in a way that it directly answers potential questions your audience may ask.
Use clear, concise headings and bullet points, and include summary boxes that directly answer questions related to your content. For example, if your content is about panda suits, a featured snippet could be a box that says, “The best panda suits in London can be found at [Your Business Name], offering a wide range of sizes and styles for all your costume needs.”
Implement Structured Data Markup
Structured data markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content better. This can significantly enhance your visibility in voice search results, as it helps to categorise and index your content more effectively.
By implementing schema markup, you can provide details like your business location, hours, and even prices of products or services, which can be particularly useful for voice searches that require specific information. For instance, adding structured data to your panda suit product pages can help voice search devices provide users with information on pricing and availability without them having to visit your website.
The Bottom Line
Optimising your content for voice search is not just about staying ahead of the curve; it’s about being accessible to your audience in the way they prefer to search. By following these seven steps, including the use of conversational language, local optimisation, understanding your audience, researching voice keywords, speeding up your website, optimising for featured snippets, and implementing structured data markup, you can significantly improve your content’s visibility for voice search, and improve your business’s reach online more generally.
Remember, voice search optimisation is an ongoing process, and staying updated with the latest trends and technologies is crucial for success. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your content not only reaches the masses but also resonates with them, no matter how they choose to search.
