The most notable shift that has occurred in the last 10 years is the universal adoption of online search as a means of finding business information. In fact, the average digital user spends twice as long online, and 10x longer on their mobile phone than they did.

While this comes as no surprise, voice search is poised to change search once again. It is already a necessary feature in modern cars and has made its way into homes through the increasing popularity of smart home devices. In fact, over 49% of Google Home and Amazon Echo users find them a necessity.

We now see people speaking into their watches, interacting and getting voice responses to their phones. Let’s face it the allure of voice chat, for many is undeniable - it’s faster, it’s hands-free and you can still multitask.

What is voice search?

Voice search occurs when a user utters a query or command to a virtual assistant on a device. The assistant recognises the voice command or query, analyses the user intent, and provides a response to that query from search engine results.

The latest data on voice search from Google states that 20% of all mobile searches were conducted through voice. As Google has around 90% of the mobile search market share in the US, data straight from Google is our best indication of where mobile voice search is heading.

When a consumer utters a command like, “OK Google/Hey Siri/Alexa, find the best hairdresser in my area,” the accuracy of business information, across certain key directories, will determine whether a business is recommended in search results.

As voice search evolves from voice recognition to voice understanding, Google is one step closer to its aim to transform voice search into “an ultimate mobile assistant that helps with your everyday life so that you can focus on the things that matter.”

Conversation and context

Context and conversational search are now essential as voice search continues to grow in popularity.

Marketers must thoughtfully incorporate a voice search strategy into their websites in order to ‘double down’ on excellent content. 

It requires the understanding of two people: 

1. 
   People who type a query 
2. People who ask questions into a voice search

The ‘typer’ might be okay with conducting research while the ‘talker’ will typically want instant quick results.

The trick is to appeal to both of these groups.

How to make content more discoverable for voice search

1/ Understand your type of customer and device behaviour

Marketers must dig deeper into understanding the consumer and their behaviour. Research and real-time data can help you understand how different people use voice search and the types of devices they are using.

2/ Use conversational keywords

Short tail keywords are never going to disappear, but it’s important to consider more conversational long-tail keywords. It’s likely the way people will be more descriptive with their search query over voice search, as they would typing into a Google search engine.

3/ Create compelling persona-based content

Context and relevance are essential when optimising for voice search.

As well as your existing SEO strategy, you need to think about: 

• Creating detailed answers to commonly asked questions 
• Answering questions very clearly and concisely 

The best way to do this is: 



• Create content with a commonly asked question as a clear headline
• Add a short concise answer immediately underneath 
• Elaborate after with further detail 

This way you’re more likely to appeal to Google’s ranking algorithm for both users. The short information you’ve displayed might even become a featured snippet. Win win!

4/ Provide context with Schema Markup

It’s important you get your head around Schema Markup, if you haven’t already.

Schema can help you mark up your content and tell search engines what your site’s about.

Schema is a HTML add-on that helps search engines understand the context of your content, which means you rank better in searches and can be found easier through specific queries made through voice search.

5/ Incorporate FAQs in your content

Voice searchers are likely to start their query with ‘Who’, ‘What’, ‘Where’, ‘When’ and ‘How’. 

This means they are looking for answers that fulfill an immediate need. 

Ensure your FAQ page begins each question with these adverbs, then answer them conversationally to appeal to voice searchers.

6/ Optimise for mobile and local searches

It’s essential you think about mobile working hand in hand with local search, especially when it comes to voice search.

When people are out and about in the local area, it’s likely they will perform on-the-go local searches. 

This is where you need to ensure directions to your shops and XML sitemaps are readable to both visitors and search engines, while optimising “near me” searches on mobile. 

Voice search is clearly on the rise, so appealing to both types of searches is crucial if you want a take-all search result

If you’d like advice to reach the right users, boost traffic, or improve your SEO strategy, Call us today for a FREE Marketing Review, here at Infoserve. 

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