The rise of voice search significantly changes how people interact with search engines and how businesses optimize for search.
As a result, voice search changes how agencies plan and deliver digital marketing services for their clients. When you type a query into Google, it returns a list of results.
When you ask Google, Siri, or Alexa for information, though, your voice search returns only one answer.
To adjust for voice search, agencies will need to focus on the following to ensure client success:
1. Conversational content
2. Local SEO
3. Amazon marketing
This article breaks down the basics of optimizing for voice search. Use it to understand how to help your clients take advantage of the voice search transformation.
1. Optimize for Voice Search Through Conversational Content
When people speak to voice assistants, they use natural language.
For example, instead of typing “best sushi restaurant in Seattle” into a search bar, a person might say “Hey, Alexa, what’s the best sushi restaurant in Seattle?”
To improve the chances of your client’s content appearing in voice search queries, either format or encourage them to format site content using a conversational tone or format.
Providing high-quality, how-to content that answers your audience’s most common questions is an excellent way to optimize clients’ content for voice searches. Use natural language to phrase questions and a conversational tone when answering them.
For example, you can include natural language in blog post subheaders.
A blog post about how to keep your water pipes from freezing in subzero temperatures might include customers’ frequently-asked-questions phrased as they would ask them.
3 Ways to Keep Your Pipes From Freezing (Title)
- [Subheader] What’s the Best Way to Keep Pipes from Freezing?
- [Subheader] Should You Keep Water Running in Freezing Weather?
- [Subheader] What Do I Do If My Water Pipe Freezes?
When users ask “ Alexa, what’s the best way to keep my pipes from freezing?” a similarly-phrased subheader lets Google know that your content is a good match.
Source: Becoming Human
Formatting content for voice search doesn’t need to compromise the quality of your services – you can still produce high-quality content that will earn returns for your clients. Using conversational language, though, improves the readability of your pieces when well-executed.
2. Prioritize Local SEO
Last year, nearly 60% of people used voice search to find a local business, yet 2019 research by Uberall found that only 4% of businesses locations are ready for voice search.
Agencies need to ensure that local businesses prioritize and prepare for voice search.
The first step toward local marketing and SEO is ensuring that business’ location, hours, and phone number are accurately listed on their websites and in search engine directories.
“When a user searches for business information in their area verbally, the accuracy of business information, across certain key directories, will determine whether a business is recommended in search results” – Uberall Voice Search Readiness Report 2019
Local businesses have excellent opportunities to reach new customers through voice search, provided they have a complete local SEO strategy in place, including:
● Reputation management
● Listings management
● Local SEO
● Local pages
● Local social media pages
Local businesses have an excellent opportunity to drive in-person traffic to their stores in 2019 since most people are using voice search, but so few businesses are optimizing for it.
3. Use Amazon Marketing for Consumer Products
If your clients sell consumer products, you need to invest in Amazon marketing.
Amazon is strongly tied to voice search results:
- Amazon Echo is the most popular home assistant device and is more familiar to consumers than Google Home or Apple HomePod.
- When people use a Encho to search to look up a product, there’s a good chance that the search result will return a link from Amazon.
Additionally, Amazon reaches a significant portion of U.S. consumers. Its 103 million U.S. Prime subscribers spend an estimated $1400 each per year.
Seven percent of Amazon Prime members purchase products daily and 20% purchase a few times per week.
Source: Feedvisor 2019 Amazon Consumer Behavior Report
Amazon’s presence and influence over product-related voice searches should prompt your agency to teach, support, and help implement Amazon marketing for your clients.
Related: Using Interactive Voice Response for help customers solve a problem automatically over the phone
Voice Search is an Excellent Opportunity for Clients
The use of voice searching grows as devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod become more popular.
Voice search is an excellent opportunity for many businesses to reach consumers, and agencies should encourage and guide their clients toward understanding how to optimize for voice.
