Be Found by Your Customers
What does this mean for you, a savvy business owner? Your online presence — particularly your website — must be optimized for all types of searching, voice included. In this article, we’ll provide some pointers about how to optimize your online business for those searching for your business verbally.
Optimizing for Voice Search
The most significant difference with voice as apposed to regular web searches is that the user will only receive one result, as opposed to a long list through which they can browse. This single result is dependent on what is called a “featured snippet.”
To earn a featured snippet, you have to first establish what topic you are trying to rank for. If you’re a yoga studio that specializes in hot yoga, make sure your site is ranking highly for keywords related to that topic, such as “bikram yoga” and “hot yoga.” Then, you need to have specific content on your site offering information on your targeted topic such as a blog or frequently asked questions page.
When optimizing content, put yourself in the shoes of your searcher and the specific questions they will ask into order to find your business. The closer you can match your content to user intent, the more likely it is that you will achieve a featured snippet. Since voice searchers will phrase their question as though they are talking to another person, make your tone more conversational.
You can also use structured data to help search engines better understand the topic of the content on your site. You can read more about how to use structured data in our blog post here. Having this data will help your content appear in featured snippets helping you be more findable through voice search.
Optimizing for Voice Search
The most significant difference with voice as apposed to regular web searches is that the user will only receive one result, as opposed to a long list through which they can browse. This single result is dependent on what is called a “featured snippet.”
To earn a featured snippet, you have to first establish what topic you are trying to rank for. If you’re a yoga studio that specializes in hot yoga, make sure your site is ranking highly for keywords related to that topic, such as “bikram yoga” and “hot yoga.” Then, you need to have specific content on your site offering information on your targeted topic such as a blog or frequently asked questions page.
When optimizing content, put yourself in the shoes of your searcher and the specific questions they will ask into order to find your business. The closer you can match your content to user intent, the more likely it is that you will achieve a featured snippet. Since voice searchers will phrase their question as though they are talking to another person, make your tone more conversational.
You can also use structured data to help search engines better understand the topic of the content on your site. You can read more about how to use structured data in our blog post here. Having this data will help your content appear in featured snippets helping you be more findable through voice search.
Local Search & Voice Search
As smart devices gain more popularity, it makes sense that most people would use voice search while on the go. It’s easier to hold own the home button and ask Siri “where’s the nearest gas station” than it is to stop and type. The best way to be returned as an answer for these searches is to ensure your business listing is claimed on Google My Business and up to date. For more on how to optimize your Google My Business listing, read our previous blog article here.
As smart devices gain more popularity, it makes sense that most people would use voice search while on the go. It’s easier to hold own the home button and ask Siri “where’s the nearest gas station” than it is to stop and type. The best way to be returned as an answer for these searches is to ensure your business listing is claimed on Google My Business and up to date. For more on how to optimize your Google My Business listing, read our previous blog article here.
About Mira Brody
Mira Brody is an editor, writer, and marketing expert with 12+ years of experience. She has worked as a local news reporter, a writer/editor, and as a leader in large-scale branding strategy. Mira worked at JTech as the staff writer and editor for internal and client projects from March 2015 to December 2019.
More articles by Mira: The Pastas of Programming | The Good, Bad and Ugly of Company Slogans | Note Taking Improves Workplace Skills