Just when you think you’ve got a handle on SEO, something new comes along to surprise you. Luckily, team Tulpa are here to give you the scoop and drop a few tips on how you can get your content fully optimised for voice SEO!

What is voice SEO?

Voice SEO is essentially optimising your content for search in the same way you would do with normal SEO, but with voice, the content is optimised for searches via voice assistants such as Google and Siri, etc.

For anyone that doesn’t know, a voice assistant is that annoying thing that keeps popping up in the car while you’re singing along to the radio.

How popular is it?

The data for the popularity of voice SEO seems encouraging so far, but it doesn’t always differentiate between what devices are being used to search i.e. smartphone vs smart home speaker, which can make it harder to pin down user behaviour.

That said, in 2019 Adobe released a study suggesting that 48% of users are using voice search for general web enquiries, so the appetite is definitely there!

A report published earlier this year by Voxly Digital suggests that around 7 in 10 people use their device for voice search on a monthly basis, with roughly 2 in every 5 confessing to using it daily. These figures were based on the month previous to the report coming out, but it’s pretty safe to assume these aren’t just massive anomalies.

However you look at it, it seems like voice SEO is here to stay, so if you’re putting your strategy together to improve your rankings, make sure you don’t overlook this important factor.

So, how do I optimise for Voice SEO?

Well, before you clear your diary for yet another mammoth SEO task, it’s important to know that optimising for voice search doesn’t involve re-inventing the wheel. By following a few simple steps, you’ll have your website and content all over those primo ranking spots!

Make sure you’re optimised for local search

This is particularly important if you’re a B2C business. People will often use voice search while driving or doing other tasks, and voice search is usually employed when a quick answer is needed. If, for example, you run an independent coffee shop, you’ll want to be visible to someone in the area looking for a place to grab a quick latte between meetings, or a visiting tourist wanting to get a snack and rest their tired feet. Optimising for voice search means you’ll have all these bases covered.

That’s not to say you should neglect voice SEO if you’re a B2B business. The data suggeststhat in certain cases, users will do a quick voice search to see what options are available, and then follow that up later with some more in-depth research. If a business owner or manager out there is looking for your services through a voice assistant, then you need to be in it to win it!

Be fully mobile responsive

I mean, you should be anyway, right? But with the proliferation of voice SEO, it’s even more important that your website looks the badger’s nadgers on EVERY device. A significant chunk of voice searches are done through a mobile device (almost 30%, in fact), and we already know that users will disengage in a matter of seconds if they don’t like your website. With all that in mind, your mobile website should be looking it’s absolute best if you’re going to tap into that voice search market.

Don’t neglect long-tail keywords

Typed or traditional services are often done in shorthand (e.g. “SEO services”) whilst a person using voice search will typically say the whole sentence (e.g. SEO service providers in Birmingham”). For this reason, it is absolutely worth putting in the legwork to make sure you’ve got your search terms nailed down and you know which long-tail keywords are going to work best. Okay, so it’s more work – but it’s soo worth it! 

Things to consider

Not all content needs to be optimised for voice SEO. Voice search is there to add an extra element to traditional search, not to replace it. People don’t want a full page read to them verbatim, so consider your audience.

So, there you have it! Love it or loathe it, voice search is here to stay, and to reap the rewards, SEO is vital.

If you need a helping hand, get in touch with us.

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