As an SEO expert, you know the importance of doing keyword research, writing quality content, building a strong backlink profile and boosting domain authority. But even if these SEO factors are flawless, it won’t be enough to stay ahead of the curve. It’s 2019 – about to be 2020 – and it’s important for digital marketers to optimize their content for voice search.
Thanks to virtual assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, people are using their voices to set alarms, buy things online and perform web searches. By optimizing your content, people will be able to find your content using their voice. Below are the most effective ways to accomplish this.
1. Get Featured Snippets
Voice queries that can be answered with a featured snippet usually are. Google tries to do this whenever possible, as featured snippets provide users with simple, factual information. This spot comes before the top SEO result, receiving more visibility without having to pay for it.
Everyone wants to get in the zero spot, so how can you give your web pages the best shot? Here are a few things to know.
- Relevance. About 30% of snippets are pulled from the first position, while the other 70% come from the 2nd-5th positions. Being on the first page is important, but relevance is as well.
- Answer questions. Your content should be optimized to answer specific questions your audience might ask. Use a topic research tool (SEMrush has one) to generate content ideas.
- Digestible content. Content that is easy to consume is also more likely to show up as a featured snippet. Stick to short paragraphs, lists and tables that are easy to show in the zero spot.
2. Optimize Content for Voice
Virtual assistants are growing smarter, which means they are able to answer questions quickly and accurately. They understand human language, which means that people can ask something like, “Alexa, show me the best pizza places in Boston.” Alexa might return with, “Here are the best pizza places near your location.”
To optimize your content for voice, use long tail keywords like “best pizza places in Boston” rather than “pizza in Boston.” Also, write your content so that it makes sense when saying it aloud. Short, conversational sentences and paragraphs are ideal.
3. Be Mobile Friendly
Most voice searches take place on mobile devices, so it’s imperative that your site is mobile friendly. Adopt a responsive design, compress files and minify coding. A few other steps you can take to perfect a mobile friendly design are:
- Use a web cache
- Optimize images
- Choose large font sizes
- Add clickable buttons
- Turn on autocorrect forms
- Avoid using Flash
- Pick a thumb-friendly design
Voice searches are going to increase, so it’s important that your content is voice search optimized. This will make it easier for people to find your content when using voice assistants like Alexa and Siri. To see how voice search friendly your website is, contact Magna Technology today for an assessment.
