"Alexa, clear my calendar, I’ve got a blog to read!"
With the reliance on advanced technology in our daily lives, comes the rise of voice search. Chances are the device you are reading this on has a voice-activated assistant, and you’re just a key phrase away from triggering it by saying, “Hey Siri” or “Okay Google.”(If you read that last bit out loud, apologies for activating your virtual BFF). With half of the U.S. population using voice search features daily, and more than one-third using them weekly, your company should be at the top of the voice search game (UpCity, 2022).
I Like the Sound of It- But How Does It Work?
Simply put, voice search uses a vocal command to perform an internet search. When you ask your virtual assistant a question it will conduct a search for the answer using speech recognition. You can ask your assistant anything from “Can you find an auto repair store near me,” or “Are there any restaurants in the area that can accommodate my screaming children?” Your device will then go through a hierarchy of steps to find an answer for you—made up of a general internet search, selection of business reviews or photos, and relevant local business data. After this research, you will be verbally presented with the top one to three answers to your question.
Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
If your company is a good fit for a user’s inquiry, it’s important that it shows up under the limited results presented to the user. To help people easily discover what they’re searching for, many virtual assistants use Google snippets that pull from webpages ranked high for voice-search queries. To help guarantee that your company shows up, optimization is a must. Claiming and optimizing your Apple Maps and Google My Business listings, as well as submitting directly to Amazon’s Alexa Business are all part of prioritizing your local SEO and optimization process.
It's All In How You Word It
Voice search is not the same as text search: We phrase our queries differently when we ask questions out loud instead of typing them. Even as far back as 2018, seven out of ten consumers (71 percent) preferred to use voice searches to conduct a query over the traditional method of typing (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018). This is why there are a few important steps to follow when putting together your company’s media content. Here’s what you need to know:
- If Siri spews heavy jargon to a possible consumer, it’s possible they will throw their phone at the wall because of how inaccessible a company’s content is.
- Using conversational language in your copy that refrains from jargon prioritizes user intent and, therefore, makes it easier for virtual assistants to pull from.
- Utilizing FAQ pages for voice-searched queries, targeting question keywords, and writing with long-tail keywords in your website’s copy are just a few more tips to make sure your company is of the top one to three results.
We know how overwhelming optimizing for voice search can seem when it comes to your company’s content, that’s why we’re here to help!
