How is Voice Search revolutionizing SEO once and for all?

Saffron Edge

Jan 4, 2021

6 min read

The digital platform keeps on evolving, and every aspect of this evolution affects how your website will rank in the search result. Even a small introduction like a featured snippet affects your SEO strategy, and this is why keeping tabs on the latest changes on the online platform is essential. You will be surprised to know that the Google algorithm changes at least once or twice every day. And even voice search is a result of such evolution of the digital platform and the changes in Google algorithm. People made a paradigm shift from qwerty keypads to touch screens, and now they are shifting from touchscreen typing to voice search. There is no surprise in this type of shift since we always speak three times faster than we type. Well, if you haven’t noticed the rise of voice search in the past couple of years then you should look at the below-mentioned stats:-

By the end of 2020, more than 50% of the searches will be voice searches, and this number will keep on increasing.
By 2022, around 55%of the homes in the U.S will have smart speakers, and this will further fuel the growth of voice search.
Till January 2018, the number of voice searches made every month increased to around 1 billion.
During the holiday shopping of 2017, 1 in 4 customers used voice search assistants to ease the process of shopping.
More than 41% of the people using smart speakers feel like they are talking with a friend or family member.

All these stats might have made you realize the influx of voice search but do you know which type of effect it will have on your SEO and what you will need to do for voice search optimization? Let’s find out through this blog post.

The difference between voice search and text in terms of SEO

You might be surprised to know that there is not any difference between text and voice search, especially when you are talking about results. The audio received from the internet users forwarded to the voice recognition API, and then this voice is converted into text. This simply means that when you type ‘best mobile phones of 2020’ and use voice for searching ‘best mobile phones of 2020’, you will get the exact same results. But when you talk about the difference between voice search and text in terms of the person’s interaction with the search, then there is a big difference, and this is what will affect your SEO. Everyone using the internet will interact with voice search in a completely different way than search boxes. You should know that users mostly have more of a conversational tone while using voice search.

Five ways in which voice search will change SEO

The importance of semantic search will increase

Google is not only dependent upon keywords as it uses many different kinds of factors like the search history of the user or different patterns of searches to show the best result. Well, this is what we call semantic search, and it is basically a word used for describing that Google is improving its ability to know what people are looking for on the internet. It is because of semantic search that when you type ‘Movies New York’, Google will understand that you are interested in watching movies in New York not movies about New York. And since voice searches are more about conversational tone, you will need to optimize your content accordingly. Start incorporating long-tail keywords to rank better for voice searches.

Content will need to be optimized for customers

Because of the proliferation of voice search, you will have to make sure that your content is not only optimized for search engines but for the customers as well. You will need to start understanding how customers are talking about your firm on social media and other platforms. You will also need to ask your sales team and customer support team about the most common question asked by the customers and the most common words used in those questions. In addition to this, you will also need to take advantage of your FAQ page and answer some of the most common questions in a detailed way. Don’t make the mistake of using marketing jargon since a customer will never use such words during voice search.

You can’t miss a mobile first site

Google has already made it clear that there is no way you can skip mobile-first sites, and if your website does not play along, then your survival on the digital platform will become problematic. If your website will take time to load on mobile phones or if it will not fit the screen, then no one will be interested in staying on your website. But even when you consider optimizing your website for voice search, the mobile-first index will come to top the list. Mobile phones acted as a springboard for voice search, and more than 50% of the people use voice search while driving. So, it’s high time that you should start optimizing your website according to the mobile-first index or you will be kicked to the bottom of the search result.

The role of featured snippets and ranking zero

A wide array of voice searches are answered through rich answer boxes that are now being called as ranking zero in the world of digital marketing. There are many of these boxes that will show you public domain information like how many cms in a meter and these types of answers are given by Google directly. But when you talk about featured snippets, then it is a whole different story. Featured snippets are pulled off from information available on the websites, and Google will give credit to those brands that will regularly come on voice searches and featured snippets. And since you will only need to appear on the first page instead of the first position, featured snippets are a more practical solution for businesses of every kind. If your website is already ranking on the first page, then you will just need to make a few changes in your content and your SEO optimization strategy.

The need to pass the radio test

When it comes to featured snippets, then Google shows the website aligns with the information, and thus the user can click on the website to get more information. This brings more organic traffic to the website. But when it comes to voice search, then Google presents the answer by saying According to’ or ‘We find this information for you’. This simply means all the brands can gain more from brand awareness. Here, the radio test means that people can hear your brand name just like in the case of a radio broadcast and then remember it for a longer period of time. So this means that all the new brands out there will need to have a band name that can be easily pronounced by Google Assistant. We are living in an era that is being driven by different kinds and phases of evolution and to stay relevant and grow in such an age, you will need to make the right adjustments to your strategy. Well, the same thing can be said about the change in SEO strategy because of voice searches. You can’t deny the influx of voice search, and you will never wish to be left behind when voice search will become a new normal for everyone. This is why, instead of waiting for others to make changes according to the rise of voice search, you should start working out on your SEO strategy and allow your website to grow even when people are searching for you through voice searches.