Voice search is seeing unprecedented growth, thanks to the new gadgets making their way to the consumer market. There are reasons why voice search is holding steady and would keep on doing so. First, it is more convenient to “say” or “ask” what you are looking for instead of trying to type the “text” query. Second, the speech recognition technology is getting smarter with each passing day, accurately recognizing the commands. Lastly, applications like Cortana and Siri are only adding to the number of searches done using voice.
So where will it lead the search engine optimization? Let’s find out.
Long Tail Keywords are Going Nowhere
The short tail or shorter keywords may not remain that useful in the longer run. The reason is the descriptive nature of the voice search. Around 20% of all the mobile search queries consist of voice. Similarly, the number of queries from voice search is on the rise. Thus, it becomes critical for online businesses to rely on long tail keywords.
Try to create content that lays out the benefits of the products you are offering in the market. For example, if a company is in the business of selling shoes, the keyword “shoes” won’t do much. Instead, the shoe business would have to strategically SEO optimize each shoe type with the right long tail keyword. Hence becoming more descriptive and facilitating the customers in finding the products they require.
Mobile Search Becomes Central
A lot of the voice searches generate from the mobile devices, so mobile-focused is the future of search engine optimization efforts. Thus, many of the contemporary internet marketers are focusing, rightly so, on the mobile. So, if you want your web properties to remain relevant in their competing industry, you would have to focus on the mobile aspect of internet marketing.
It also means that your site must be fully responsive and able to open on the mobile phones easily. It should be flexible enough to fit any screen without compromising the online user journey. In the past, user experience did not matter much. But, Google has upped the game of user experience, rightly so because of the new breed of more demanding online dwellers.
Also, besides responsiveness, the site should be equally efficient when opened on a smartphone. Therefore, it is essential not to make the visitors of your site wait. Try to make the user experience as uniform as possible regardless of the device.
Switch to Conversational Content
Conversation is the name of the game. The strict, informative and to the point content alone cannot help pass much value. Therefore, it is essential that you generate conversational content. The type of content that talks about the end product or service with the end-users, discussing customers’ pain points, and giving them reasons to use your company’s product or service.
The old sales oriented content generation, paying no need to the end user’s needs, will not work anymore. It is thus imperative for internet marketers to understand the need to connect with the potential customers. One of the reasons websites see high bounce rate is that their content fails to engage and captivate the attention of the visitors.
FAQs Become More Important
Customers want to know more about the company before buying a product or service from it. Thus, FAQs or frequently asked questions become central to the search engine optimization. You have to ensure that you fully understand the customers’ concerns and lay them to rest with elaborate answers.
Even if you think that you are selling a highly technical product or service, think of the person who wants to buy it. Make sure to educate the potential customer even if they are not looking to buy your product. The information you provide will help your brand stand out.