Now is the Right Time to Optimize Your Content for Voice Search

Back in 2011, when Siri first came out, it was considered a novel and cool technology. It was informative and rather funny at its core. Everyone loved playing with it. However, at no stage was it considered a major impactful technology. Or atleast, that is how we perceived its present (now past) and future.

Things have changed and turned out to be different.

Today, Siri, or more specifically, voice assistant technology has become ingrained in the fabric of our daily lives. We have been introduced to its various other forms: Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant.People are using voice assistants to perform almost all their routine tasks– from setting up reminders to making calls to taking important notes.

But one application that truly stands out is voice-assisted search.

Voice search queries have become a major trend. They are dominating all platforms: tablets, smartphones, laptops and computers.

According to Bessemer Venture Partners, 20% of all mobile search queries are made through voice assistants.

Google also acknowledges this.

Speaking at Google I/O conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that one-fifth of the queries on Google are made through voice search. The high number of voice-first devices in circulation are a further evidence to established (and increasing) prominence and popularity of voice search.

Why is the technology so prominent and popular? The reason is simple: Because of its convenience. Typing a search query takes time. Not to mention, there’s always the chance of a misspelling.

Performing a voice search on the other hand is more convenient.

You don’t have to type; you only have to speak through the microphone and the technology does the rest for you with amazing accuracy.

Plus, it’s faster than typing.

This begs the question: Is your content optimized for voice search?

It’s all about creating a relevant acontent strategy

To produce voice search optimized content, you need a relevant strategy. This strategy will be a part of your overall content marketing strategy.

The steps to creating a content strategy that produces voice search optimized content are as follows:

• Identify the common questions consumers are most likely to ask
• Highlight which of those questions are more interesting to your business
• Come up with a set of closely related questions
• Address the targeted questions in a single cohesive article

Identifying market-specific questions shouldn’t be a problem for you if you already leverage content marketing for your business. Where you may struggle, however, is short listing questions that are more interesting to your business. When shortlisting target questions for producing voice search optimized content, focus on ones that capture micro moments.

What are micro moments?

Micro moments are defined as windows of opportunities where a customer is ready to try, commit or buy. What makes micro moments so significant here is the fact that voice searches are more definitive in terms of action than traditional searches.

Think about it: When was the last time you voice searched something like “Funny videos” or “Top tips to so and so” or something similar?

Usually, when customers perform a voice search, they’re doing it because they’re in a hurry. Their intentions are more refined and defined.  They are more prepared to spend money on a product or service. Their queries often start along the lines of I-want-to-know, I-want-to-do, I-want-to-go and I-want-to-buy nature. They are usually at more advanced stages in the marketing and sales funnels. They exhibit a greater tendency for micro moments and these are the very moments you need to target.

But how can one capture these critical moments through their content, you ask?

That’s where keywords come in.

When we are talking about using keywords for producing voice-search optimized content, the focus should be on long tail keywords.

Remember, voice search queries are very specific and detailed. You won’t find the generic ‘buy jackets’ queries with voice-assisted queries. Instead, they’re more likely to use something like ’buy black leather jacket’.

This inherent nature of voice search queries makes the use of long tail keywords imperative.

Also, it’s vital to optimize the use of keywords according to the search intent of consumer.

After the Hummingbird update, Google has started placing strong emphasis on user intent when interpreting search queries. It prefers returning content that employs keywords in the context of the search intent of the user.

This applies even more strongly to voice search.

For example, consider the keyword “digital marketing”.

It can have different contextual meanings depending onthe nature of a search query:

• What is digital marketing?
• What are the business benefits of digital marketing?
• How does digital marketing work?
• How to hire a digital marketing company?
• Where to find a digital marketing company in Alabama?

Assuming that your “What is Digital Marketing” article will rank high for a search query “how to hire a digital marketing company” just because your article contains the keyword, is a big mistake.

You need to make sure your content serves specific user needs.

Voice search has undoubtedly come a long way in a very small period. However, the technology is still evolving, and the algorithms powering it are only getting better. As such, we can expect newer and more effective content optimization strategies to be introduced in the future.

Do you run a business that has online presence?

Do you need help with optimizing your digital content for voice search?

Search Berg is at your service!

We’re one of the leading content marketing firms in the United States. Employing an experienced and knowledgeable team of content marketers, we can optimize your small business website and make it more effective at helping you achieve your business goals.

Get in touch with us today.