Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has evolved beyond just strategic keyword placement. While it’s still important, it’s not as important as it used to be. These days, the content as a whole matters more than any keyword, so we can say that the content is the KING. Voice search is also making businesses around the world rethink their SEO strategy.
Many companies have made efforts to become “mobile friendly” in recent years, but it’s a factor that has often been overlooked until now. Currently, more than 100 million mobile phone and tablet users have the Google voice search application installed on their devices.
It is much easier for a mobile Internet user to simply say what they are looking for instead of typing it. Usually, users simply prefer to ask a question instead of indicating a particular keyword. If the content on our website provides answers to questions that mobile users may ask, it has a better chance of ranking highly.
According to research, Google provides direct answers to queries in at least 19% of all searches. Clearly, the search engine was inclined to give answers to users. If your content isn’t organized in a way that helps Google provide answers to search queries, it could hurt your results in voice and mobile rankings.
Here are some ways we can prepare our website for voice searches:
· Create content with a natural voice…fluent English/spoken English. Avoid the use of formal language. Think the way consumers will speak when they search. This way, you will be able to get your message across conversationally.
· The FAQ strategy works best if you plan to create content for voice search optimization. Answer questions like “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Address the answers to these questions not only on the website, but also in blogs and social media posts.
· Long-tail keywords are ideal for optimization: long-tail keywords and question-form keyword phrases. Make them sound natural. Don’t try to force a keyword phrase into your content.
Stay away from keywords
The importance of keywords in SEO has declined over the years. Google has been declining the importance of keyword-focused search queries, due to low-quality keyword spam content on the web. When users use any search engine, they want to be shown relevant websites that contain real information about what they are looking for, not a random page with keywords spammed all over the place.
These days, voice search makes the requirement for quality content even more essential. Sentence and question based searches should be given importance instead of keyword focused ones.
The technology behind it:-
At the moment, you don’t have to worry about implementing any markup code for voice search rankings. While there are a number of technologies associated with creating voice search, current SEO practices are enough to maintain a high ranking. You won’t have to tweak your web design too much, at least for now. Just include voice search in your overall strategy.