Hey Siri, who offers the best SEO services in India?

Hey Google, how to live steam a video on my website?

Hey Alexa, what are the graphic design predictions for 2020?

If these questions sound familiar to you, congratulations! You are now part of the online search revolution. Voice search is one of the highly emerging trends in the search world. It is something that all SEO experts must keep their eyes on.

Even if you are not personally using voice search, it is already shaping the future of SEO.

What is Voice Search?

To put it in simple terms, voice search is nothing but the searches you perform using your voice instead of manually typing your search into the browser. It is conducted through voice search assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant.

Furthermore, search engines are becoming ‘answer engines’ because they are providing one answer to a query. Google achieved this by introducing new innovations such as Knowledge Graph and snippets.

Here are the top 4 voice assistants in the world and the devices they are compatible with.

• Apple Siri – Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod
• Google Assistant – Google Home, Pixel phone, Android 6.0+ devices, iOS and Android apps
• Microsoft Cortana – Windows 10, Windows phone, Xbox One, iOS and Android apps
• Amazon Alexa – Echo

Take a look at this video to know how The Rock uses Siri voice search.

Take a look at this official Google video which explains how the Google Assistant helps.

Here Are Some Impressive Stats That Show the Growth of Voice Search

• Nearly 400 million devices use Google’s voice assistant (Source: Google)
• 55% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices by 2022 (Source: OC&C Strategy Consultants)
• 65% of 25-49 year olds speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once per day (Source: PwC)
• 51% of voice search users use it to research products (Statistics & image source: Narvar)

• 51% of consumers use voice search to research restaurants (Source: BrightLocal)
• 61% of 25 to 64-year-olds say they will use their voice devices more in the future (Source: PwC)
• 53% of smart speaker owners say it feels natural talking to these devices (Source: Google)
• 61% of consumers use voice search when their hands or vision is occupied (Source: MindMeld)
• The voice recognition market will hit $601 million industry by 2019 (Source: torquemag.io)
• Nearly 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by a set of 25 keywords (Statistics & image source: seoClarity)

Also Read

Google Featured Snippets Box : How To Get One For Your Webpage?

How Will Voice Search Change SEO?

According to ComScore, by 2020, more than 50% of all the searches will be voice searches. This means that digital marketers must start preparing for this search revolution.

But, how exactly is voice search changing the current SEO practices?

1. Increase in natural language search

Voice searches contain structured and grammatically correct phrases and sentences. For example, instead of typing ‘best-selling crime novels 2019 Amazon’, with voice search, the user will speak ‘Hey Siri, What are the best-selling crime novels on Amazon in 2019.’ So, keyword stuffing will no longer work for voice search. You have to optimize your website for natural language search.

2. More mobile searches

Even though voice recognition apps are available for desktop, many users prefer mobiles because it gives more convenience. According to LocationWorld, 240% of the adults now use mobile voice search at least once daily. So optimizing for mobile feasibility is vital.

3. More local-based searches

According to SEO Expert Brad:

• In the last year, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information
• 46% of voice search users look for a local business daily
• 27% visit the website of a local business after conducting a voice search

The increase in local-based queries is due to the fact that voice search is language-dependent. So, an SEO localization strategy is required to get good results.

How to Improve Voice Search SEO?

Now that we know what voice SEO is and how many people use it on a daily basis, one thing is quite clear: Voice optimization is a definite must.

If a business fails to adapt to this fast-growing trend, its search ranking will be in trouble. So SEO experts must tailor their existing SEO strategies to optimize for voice search.

Here are some voice search tips that will make a good impact on your search engine rankings.

Make Use of Long-Tail Keywords

Voice search combines long-tail keywords with natural language. So you have to figure out how your target audience will use their search queries and integrate them into your blogs, web pages and product descriptions.

Typically, these words and phrases will work for voice search:

• ‘Near me’ in anchor text, meta description and title tags
• Names of local sights or landmarks used to describe your location
• 5 Ws – Who, What, Where, When and Why

Additionally, make use of the FAQ page to develop a strategy to optimize your website for conversational searches.

Some tools that will help you to research popular long-tail keywords are Google Trends, WordStream Free Keyword Tool and Google suggestions.

Also Read

Search Intent Keywords – A Complete Guide

Use easily digestible content

According to Google’s Voice Guidelines, the readability level of answers given to the users is important. The chances of your content being displayed in voice search results will be more, if your text is easy to read.

Here are some tips to improve readability.

• Do not use words that are hard to pronounce
• Do not use words that require extra explanation
• Use tools such as WebPageFX Readability Tool or free grammar check Australia to check the readability score of your content.
• Make sure your brand name passes the radio test
• Optimize content with schema data

Make your site responsive

One of the main reasons people prefer voice search is faster response and faster results.
Page speed is critical to ensure a flawless browsing experience for voice search users. With mobile users dominating the searches, having a responsive design website will definitely be useful.

According to Kissmetrics, 47% of customers expect a website to load in 2 seconds or less. You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool to check the mobile-friendliness of your website. Also, it will be wise to check out Google AMP requirements to boost site speed.

Start local

Local businesses will be the first to benefit from voice search. If your business has an office or physical location, get listed in Google My Business. This will help voice assistants to quickly find your business.

Microdata such as addresses, product names and business names is also important because users are likely to include them in the queries.

How ColorWhistle’s Professional SEO Services in India Can Help You?

ColorWhistle is a professional SEO company in India specializing in SEO strategy, content strategy, link building, local SEO, user experience, voice search and more. We also offer white label SEO reseller program options if you want us to be your silent partner. 

Savvy Digital Marketers – Start Adapting to Voice Search

Here are our predictions on how voice search will influence SEO.

• Importance of semantic search will increase. To learn more, read this in-depth guide about semantic search
• Function and tone of content must cater to customers
• Mobile-friendly websites are mandatory
• Fight for position zero (featured snippets) will continue because a majority of voice searches are answered via these boxes
• Directories will become important for local businesses

 Voice search is going to play an important part in the future of SEO. So, it is best to be prepared. With the tips mentioned in this blog, you will be able to use voice search to your advantage. 

If you have any views on how voice search will impact the future of SEO, leave a comment below. We would love to know your views