Preparing your site for voice search results
SEO is already a complex, constantly evolving field as far as standard browser text searches go. Still, many business websites are missing out on a whole different level of search results coming from voice-based searches via phones and smart devices like Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
These devices are not new. Many of us have either an Amazon Echo or Google Home device around the house that we use for simple tasks like playing music, tracking orders, setting reminders, or finding out what the weekend weather will be.
However, more and more people are using these devices as well as phones,
especially on a local level, to locate nearby products and services.
Voice searches have become increasingly popular because it is simply easier and more convenient to speak to an assistant device on-the-fly than having to go to a device with a screen, open a browser, and type their search.
From a business standpoint, while many people may not realize it, there is a big difference between browser-based and voice search results.
Each media and device type requires a different SEO method.
If you currently rank very highly on say Google, you should still be pretty good on an android phone or Google Assistant voice search, because they get their results from the Google search engine.
If you are not using these, test yourself by asking Alexa or Siri to find companies in your local area, such as "find home renovators near me."
The primary reason for this is that people structure searches differently in a browser search bar than they do when they are speaking.
For example, on a screen, someone may type something like "Mexican restaurants in Chesapeake," whereas, verbally, they may ask something like "find a Mexican restaurant near me with the best reviews."
Part of the reason for a more defined question is the lack of space and time on a voice search. While people are fine scrolling down a page through 10 search results on a screen, most are not willing to take minutes while 10 website titles and descriptions are being read out loud. You have to tell the device to either stop or interrupt it to get more information on that result.
Even though it can be a bit of a pain with purely voice devices, things are changing as manufacturers bring out screened versions of the devices, like the Google Home Hub, and Amazon Echo Show.
As these voice/screen devices become the norm, voice searches could very well overtake browser searches in popularity.
As such, this is a very good time to get your web designer to investigate and implement a voice-search based SEO strategy.
If you have concerns with your website's performance, now is the time to look into our WebUpdate system sites.
Not Open Source, they take advantage of advanced security, SEO, social, and responsive features to give your business the best competitive edge online.
Terry Young is the founder and CEO of Internet Marketing and Design. Since 1997,
his computer programming and graphic design knowledge have kept his company
at the forefront of the latest technology in web development.
