“OK Google” >>> People are spending more and more of the typical day talking to digital devices, rather than typing keywords into search engines. What can you do to stay ahead of the curve in the era of Alexa and Siri? There are a few early SEO tricks for voice search optimization, and here is how you can optimize your website right now.
As you might suspect, this should have a significant impact on search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing strategies, which are based largely on old-fashioned keyboard inputs. Speaking and typing are two very different ways to search for information, and marketers must take this into consideration when figuring out ways to drive traffic to websites.
It is said that voice search is quickly becoming 30% of the way people search, speaking into their digital devices in order for a Siri or Alexa to voice back a search response. Let’s optimize your small business so that your business is the thing that they are talking about:
- Use Natural Speech in your SEO: Want Alexa to find the nearest used coffeeshop? There’s no secret code you have to learn; just say, “Alexa, where is the nearest coffeeshop?”
- Use Longtail key words in your content: for instance, a small mail-order business that sells vintage 50s clothing will probably not rank well on searches for “clothes.” The big nationwide retailers have those spots. But a business like this can use more targeted long-tail keywords, like “vintage fifties clothing for women,” to attract customers who are searching for specific types of apparel.
- Update your local listings on Google & Bing: If you routinely search with the term “near me,” then you’re part of a rapidly rising SEO trend. (a 500% increase in volume when combined with “to buy,” “can I buy,” or a similar phrase, according to a comparison of Google Data from July-December 2015 and July-December 2017. A related mobile search that has recently surged in frequency is “near me today/tonight.” That phrase increased by 900% in the same period. The “near me” search allows the user to leave off their hometown and other location-specific data. This is possible because our internet-connected devices already know where we are.
Effective voice search optimization is based on conversational speech, not the choppy-sounding keyword searches of years past. Understanding this concept will go a long way toward helping you meet your marketing goals
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