Voice Search and The Future of SEO

Voice search in undeniably on the rise. According to a recent study commissioned by Google, 55% of teens and 41% of adults use voice search more than once a day. When asked why they use voice search, over 85% of respondents that it is because voice search is the future.
If 85% of consumer understand that voice search is the future, it is high time for the SEO world to catch up with this growing trend. The popularity of voice search continues to grow right on pace with advances in interpretive technology. Google now uses context-building clues such as search history, geographic location, and personal information to parse conversational search queries.
Also adding to this popularity are in-home personal assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. Voice search is here and voice search is the future, so here are four tips to search engine optimization with an eye toward the future:

  1. Conversational Content – Natural language content has been the SEO standard for a few years now, but it is about to get even more important. Voice-based searches are conversational by nature – unlike many keyword-only text searches. Creating content that matches the conversational tone of voice searchers will become vital over the next year or two.
  2. Schema Markup – While the ins and outs of schema markup are beyond the scope of this short article, they are essential to optimizing your website for voice search. Schema markup is code that helps provide useful context to search engines – something that is extremely important when it comes to interpreting voice searches and matching them with relevant context. Proper use of schema markup will also boost the chances of obtaining a featured snippet in Google.
  3. Answer Long Form Questions – Many voice searches are questions. So when it comes to content creation, a good strategy is to answer the who, what, where, why, and when questions. Building your content around long-tail questions will naturally match your content with users asking questions of their devices.
  4. Use Suggested Search – Many seasoned searches strip their text searches down to one or two keywords. Trusting Google to fill in the blanks for them. While this is great on a computer or phone, it isn’t the best technique for voice searches. If you are used to creating content around a single keyword, try searching that keyword and using the ‘Searches related to….” feature to fill in the blanks around your keyword.

As the technology around voice search continues to grow, so will its popularity. There are, admittedly, several hurtles to still overcome – especially when it comes to distinguishing like-terms and homophones; but those hurtles are being cleared at a fast and furious rate.
Voice search represents a sea-change in the world of SEO; and ignoring it won’t make it go away. At Fusion Group USA, our team of SEO experts and web designers stay abreast of the latest developments to make sure your website is optimized and ready to perform today, tomorrow, and into the future. If you’re interested in hearing more about our SEO or web design services, contact us today and set up a 100% free, no-strings-attached consultation.

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