With how common smart devices are becoming through our day to day lives, voice search is becoming the most popular way for people to get information online. This shift to voice search has businesses in the Freeburg, IL reconsidering their SEO approach. The SEO related to voice search differs from other text-based searches. In this blog post we would like to discuss the differences in voice search SEO compared to traditional searches.
Search Queries
The main difference to expect with voice search & traditional search is the different phrases people will use in queries. When people are using text searches, they will use keyword-heavy phrases like, “Best plumbers in Freeburg, IL.” With voice searches, people will usually be more natural when using a virtual assistant. A search in that context could be phrased like, “Who are the best plumbers near me?” People will use more natural language and phrases when searching using their voice as opposed to traditional text searches.
Expectations for Search Results
What people are wanting in voice searches also differs slightly from traditional searches. With voice searches, people are more looking for immediate answers for their questions. They are not wanting to go through a list of potential businesses to go with. With traditional searches, people expect to not necessarily get an immediate answer to their question but rather a query of different sources. When looking for businesses that do a specific service traditionally, you will often get a variety of different businesses ranked in the search results/
Emphasis on Mobile & Local
Voice search is tied to mobile and local searches. Out of all of the devices capable of voice search, easily the most common one used are mobile devices like smartphones. Voice searches on these devices tend to be heavily focused on location. For example, someone would search, “Where is the nearest X?” or something like, “Find X near me.” Businesses trying to optimize need to focus on getting strong local SEO in their location & service areas. One effective way of doing this is claiming and optimizing your business listings on search engines. These listings are used by voice search results to help find what customers are looking for. Make sure all your information is accurate and consistent across other platforms.
Featured Snippets and Quick Answers
With voice search, information is usually pulled from featured snippets or other visible sources found on the search results. Featured snippets are brief answers which appear at the top of the page and exist to give a quick answer to potential questions. When you optimize for voice search you want to make sure that you optimize your website’s featured snippets. With traditional searches, users have the option to check out multiple different websites, but voice search only allows for a couple of results at a time. This is why snippets are so important for voice search.
Content Structure & SEO Strategies
It is important for businesses to adapt their website content for both traditional and voice search users. The content structure should be phrased in such a way that it answers the questions asked in voice search. One easy way to catch questions asked in voice search queries is by creating a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page on your website. This will give people the answers they are looking for when they use voice search. Traditional search dose not have to have such wording; however, keywords are important for ensuring that your website has good SEO overall. Find a balance with your content in order to optimize for both voice search and traditional search SEO.
Own a business in the Freeburg, IL area? Having issues trying to get your business optimized for voice search or just do not have enough time to do so. Call Hometown Marketing Group. We provide a variety of reliable digital marketing services for businesses in that area and the surrounding areas including voice search optimization. If you are interested in any of our services, give us a call today to find out how we can best assist your business.
