How to Update Your SEO Strategy for Voice Search

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1. Optimize for Natural Language

The way you type when searching for something on Google is often very different from the way you speak. Think about the last time you asked Siri something. If you were searching for a new pizza restaurant with text, you might type “Pizza Restaurant, NY.”

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1. Optimize for Natural Language

If you’re asking a search engine to find you somewhere to eat, you’d say: “Alexa, what are some pizza restaurants near me?” Adding more conversational language to your content is a great way to appeal to the voice search algorithms.

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1. Optimize for Natural Language

It’s also worth noting that human beings are more likely to respond to language that feels conversational and friendly. No one likes reading robotic content. If you’re struggling to get an idea of your customer’s voice, try chatting to some previous clients and pay attention to the words, phrases, and slang they use.

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2. Improve Mobile Speeds

Optimizing the loading speed of your website is a must-have for any good SEO strategy. However, if you’re trying to get ahead with voice search, it’s crucial to focus specifically on the way your website works on mobile devices. While a larger number of customers are using smart speakers and other products to search through voice, smartphones

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2. Improve Mobile Speeds

are still the most common device for a voice search. To ensure that your site is prepared for the age of mobile, use themes that are naturally responsive, and run regular tests to ensure that your pages are loading quickly. Get rid of anything on your site that might be problematic for mobile users, such as tiny links,

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2. Improve Mobile Speeds

or buttons that are difficult to tap on a phone screen.

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3. Use Long-Tail Keywords

When you’re updating your website with conversational content, it may be worth making some changes to your keyword strategy. People are using more long-tail keywords when they converse with smart assistants and speakers. Talking to an AI solution often feels like talking to a friend, so you can expect search queries to be longer.

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3. Use Long-Tail Keywords

Instead of trying to rank for the most succinct versions of searches like “digital marketing USA”, think about what people may say when looking for you. For instance, you might try to rank for “Digital marketing services in New York” or “Top-ranked digital marketing companies.” Long-tail keywords are extremely useful for

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3. Use Long-Tail Keywords

SEO purposes because they help you to target customers with specific intent. Often, long-tail terms are also easier to rank for than shorter terms too.

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4. Focus on Local Search

As smart assistants and mobile searching become more common, people are changing the way that they search online. When people are looking for advice from a voice assistant, they’re often at a slightly later stage in the buyer journey. For instance, it’s more common for your customers to use a voice search to look for

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4. Focus on Local Search

“Burritos near me” than it is for them to ask a smart speaker about the history of burritos. With that in mind, make sure your website is ready for local search. Create dedicated destination pages for each of the cities or towns you serve. It’s also helpful to have a Google My Business listing to help

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4. Focus on Local Search

searchers track down your company’s phone number, name, and address when looking for instant information.

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5. Optimize Rich Answers

Finally, make sure you’re taking advantage of the latest features in the search engines. Recently, studies found that around 70% of all answers returned for a voice search came with a specific SERP feature like a featured snippet. Optimizing your content to appear in the featured snippet is a great way to boost your chances of

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5. Optimize Rich Answers

being seen online. You can also invest in things like appearing in the knowledge graph or knowledge panel on the Google results by optimizing your content to answer questions quickly and concisely. If you don’t have a strategy for creating rich answers and appearing in featured snippets yet, make

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5. Optimize Rich Answers

sure you have one before you work on your voice search visibility.

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6. Get Ready for the Age of Voice

As more smart assistants make their way into our lives, the demand for voice search will only grow. You’ll need to ensure that your website is optimized correctly for the age of voice if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Don’t be left behind.