Voice search is growing fast as more and more people become comfortable with using virtual assistants and searching hands-free.
A recent report from Ofcom found that 1/8 households in the UK have a smart speaker, presenting the growing opportunity for new forms of advertising that merge with your existing PPC campaigns.
Both Amazon and Google are the top contenders for introducing voice search ads, however currently aside from ‘Skills’, there aren’t any options for bidding on the platforms. Both companies have yet to roll out the opportunity due to the fear that they would appear a lot more ‘irritating’ than their visual equivalent.
Despite paid search opportunities currently on hold, the SEO opportunities are in-demand. When thinking about optimising your website for voice search, you should consider the following:
- Ensure information about any opening hours, contact information and FAQ is clearly available on its own page. People ask specific questions to their voice-enabled devices, such as “What are the opening hours for ______ store?”
- Update your ‘Google My Business’ listing ensuring, just like the first point, it’s really easy to find out information about your company.
- Target long-tail keywords. Your site is more likely to rank higher on voice search engines if the search term is longer than the typical search query. Nobody is able to scroll through a list of search results if they can’t see them.
- Use ‘Schema metadata’, this is a web language that allows you to provide additional information to search engines.
What’s crucial regarding preparation is the understanding that you need to make it as easy as possible to find the information users are looking for, and site owners who do this are the ones that will truly reap the rewards from a society that relies on voice assistants as part of their day-to-day lives.
For more, check out our article on why Voice Search is vital for your brand’s future or get in touch with kim.mclellan@hunterlodge.co.uk to discuss how we can help you change up your SEO strategy, get in touch
