Optimizing SEO for voice search

This came to me via:Top 9 Search Takeaways from BrightonSEO Experts

Voice search is estimated at 20% of internet search today -- and trending upwards with mobile device traffic increases. Mobile traffic is worth less but there is more and more of it.

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Optimizing for voice search in 2018
Voice search has been the big thing in SEO for a few years already, so it's no wonder the topic's been hugely discussed at a number of 2018 SEO events, including this one in Brighton.

Stuart Shaw, with Zazzle Media, used some unique findings in his presentation and dove into the details of voice search, covering the present and the future of the technology, and explaining why it's going to be very important for brands.


"Google & Bing are fast becoming answer engines and featured snippets are everywhere. They've changed the way we search for, and market products, reducing organic clicks by 37%. This is naturally a killer for attribution – how can you show ROI for awareness?"
Why is Voice important?
First of all, using voice search, users can interact with your websites, products, information in a more "intimate" way, without any barriers. It's a 100% natural way to perceive information.

Secondly, optimizing for voice search often results in snippets that drive more organic traffic, which is especially true for mobile devices.

Ease of use and technology development make voice search more and more popular — an average human is able to talk at 130 words per minute against typing at 40 words per minute. So, why waste time typing and making autocorrect edits?

Focus on the 3 C's
Stuart considers there are 3 main types of voice queries to focus on — commands, conversations and C-questions. Stuart noted that he had to name these 3 types as CCQ, but then realized that 3 C's sounds much more catchy . Here's how we get a closer look at those conversational queries often used in voice search:

• Work with your customer support team.
• Look through the Google Search Console stats.
• Look at the SERP.

Optimizing content for voice search, remember to:

1. Use Headings for questions.
2. Wrap your content into lists.
3. Split texts into shorter paragraphs.
4. Provide answers "in a nutshell" (be succinct and answer in 40-55 words).
5. Implement the right schema.
6. Use anchor links to the different sections of your page to promote a better experience for users and an even better sense of hierarchy for search engines.

Speed is important
It's noteworthy that voice loves sites which load quickly, typically a voice result will have a TTFB (time to first byte) 4 times faster than the webpage average according to Backlinko's research.




View the presentation slides

 

What he doesn't mention is the 800 pound gorilla in the room ...

Have a domain name that is pronounceable in voice search and will render that domain name in the little box and not just a generic keyword where there is always going to be many competitors.

It's one thing to create a perfect landing page that converts and a very different marketing approach to branding a website for some objective.

In branded voice search the older and more often searched, having higher SEO values, have a definite advantage in traditional thinking -- there is a large pool of search data available to base the voice interpreted search on.

However, creative pronounceable domain names do stand a chance for the reason that personal search history is used in voice search input analysis by the search engines using it.

As a side note: Some of the new gTLDs are working in voice search for me but that may be based on my mobile browser's history (Chrome 70).

So, the impact of voice search will really depend on what you are doing.