November 8, 2024
The demand for fast and accurate results is higher than ever. Now, in 2024, more than one billion voice searches take place each month. So let’s look into what voice search is, why it’s becoming so popular, and what you can do to leverage it.
Voice search uses automatic speech recognition to transfer speech into text and allow search engines to bring up matching results. With the ability to get answers to questions using just your voice, it’s no wonder 54% of UK households now have at least one smart speaker, with the big players including Siri, Google Home, and Alexa.
This kind of technology has been around for years - it actually dates back to the 1950s - but has become more widely used in the last decade for a number of reasons.
Voice search offers the ability to get answers hands free. Instead of breaking off from a task or attempting to do multiple things at once, you can simply ask the question aloud and have it answered without manually scrolling through search results.
Voice search provides a more inclusive approach to search. Those who are challenged by traditional text searches are given the chance to independently access the information they require with ease.
Voice search technology is constantly evolving and nowadays it’s much more accurate. In the past, voice search had limitations that often made it frustrating to use and typically made the process of accessing information slower. Now that it has advanced, acquiring information through voice search is considerably easier.
Voice search can be a great marketing tool, as it can bring in more leads and generate extra revenue. With this in mind, here are five things you can do to optimise your website for voice search.
50% of voice search results rely on a featured snippet to provide users with information. As featured snippets appear at the top of the SERP and offer a concise answer to a question, they are exactly what a search engine will be looking to use. This makes creating content that targets featured snippets a great tactic for your voice search optimisation strategy.
Having structured data is essential for helping search engines understand your content. By using schema markup and giving search engines context, you can increase the chances of appearing in a featured snippet or ‘people also ask’ section.
Local SEO is generally a highly effective marketing strategy. With 58% of users using voice search to find local businesses and 22% of voice search queries having local intent, it’s a no-brainer to implement local SEO into your voice search optimisation strategy.
Making sure your Google Business Profile is up to date, managing your online reviews, targeting local keywords and creating content that’s relevant locally, are just a few of the things you can do to enhance your local SEO.
How we use voice search and text-based search is quite different. Text search is to the point, whereas voice search is much more conversational.
For example, if you were looking to make butter chicken, most users would type into the search bar ‘butter chicken recipe’ but if you were to verbally search, you’re more likely to use wording such as ‘how do I make butter chicken’.
Queries made over voice search are usually long tail keywords with a lower search volume. Optimising your content to target long tail keywords will aid in your visibility for voice search results.
A mobile-friendly website is a must regardless of voice search optimisation, but as voice search is popular amongst mobile users it’s important to ensure your site is mobile friendly, easy to navigate, and fast loading to increase your chances of appearing for a voice search query.
Voice search has been around for decades and with the increase in popularity in the last several years, it’s clear that voice search will continue to be a prevalent method of searching.
As the technology develops further, it will offer even better accuracy and relevancy to users - amplifying its use amongst searchers.
Are you missing out on potential sales and revenue opportunities due to lack of voice search optimisation? As experts in creating optimisation strategies, we can help. Contact us today to see how we can optimise your site for voice search.
