Voice Search: from keyboard to voice
“Hey Siri, search for Guardians of the Galaxy on Google” ‘I found ten results for Guardrails of Galicia on Google’. Anyone who hasn’t had at least one conversation like this with a voice assistant is lying.
How to optimize content for voice search
In recent years, Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa have infiltrated our lives, always ready to answer any question or misunderstand anything we say.
With the increase in voice searches, ignoring Voice Search in your SEO strategy means losing a superpower.
If you have a website, a blog or a YouTube channel, now is the time to optimize your content for voice search. But how do you do it? Let’s find out together!
It’s no longer the future, it’s the present: what is Voice Search?
Voice Search is a search method based on voice recognition. After the online search, the answer is read and provided to the user.
Interpreting what we say is difficult for our psychologist, let alone for the computer.
To make yourself understood correctly by voice assistants, there’s not much you can do, you have to formulate your question well using morphology, semantics and syntax.
In a nutshell, you are Iron Man, but without the charm of Robert Downey Jr., and Voice Search is J.A.R.V.I.S., but without the missile-launching mode.
And just like in the Marvel universe, starting from the question we ask the vocal assistant, the NLP (Natural Language Program) filters the most important information, searches for the indications in the database and formulates the answer to give us.
And what the NLP gives us back isn’t always what we were looking for, but as Iron Man tells J.A.R.V.I.S. during his first flight in the armor, “Sometimes you have to risk uncertainty to have certainty.”
Because the interesting part is that, thanks to machine learning, NPL learns from every question. In this way, it develops predictive models that continuously improve the system, making the answers more and more accurate and refining the natural language program.
Why do more and more people prefer to talk instead of typing?
Typing? It’s out of fashion!
Especially if you’re out and about, you have one hand occupied by the fourth cocktail of the evening, the other trying not to drop the phone down the drain and you need to ask Google how long Italians wash their faces.
That’s why voice search is becoming increasingly popular because it’s:
- Faster and by now we’re all in a hurry
- According to statistics, 71% of people prefer to use voice search rather than typing. Speaking a sentence takes a fraction of the time it takes to write it, not to mention typing errors.
- More natural, because we learned to speak first and then to write
- Talking to a voice assistant comes naturally, as if we had a digital secretary ready to help us.
- More inclusive because it is accessible to everyone
- Let’s not forget that voice search is a big step forward for those with mobility or visual impairments.
How queries change: the Long-Tail Keyword
There is one thing that voice search has made clear: we are lazy.
And if SEO were a Marvel movie, long-tail keywords would be Dr. Strange: not always in the spotlight, but essential to solving the problem.
Whereas before the main keywords were something like “sushi restaurant Naples”, today voice searchers prefer to ask: “Where can I eat excellent sushi in Naples?”.
And you know the best part? Long-tail keywords have less competition and a better chance of bringing qualified traffic.
Featured Snippets are another reason why long tail keywords are Voice Search friendly.
You know when Google answers you directly with a small box when you ask a question? That’s one of the gems of Voice Search power. Siri and Google Assistant will read it out loud to you if your site appears, as voice assistants often read Featured Snippets.
How to optimize content for Voice Search
1. Keyword Research: think about how users speak
To optimize content, it’s essential to analyze and include long-tail keywords and conversational queries. Here are some useful tools:
- Google SERP: Analyze the related queries box, the automatic suggestions and the People Also Ask (PAA) section.
- SeoZoom: Use our platform to discover all the right keywords.
2. Content structure: respond to all stages of the customer journey
Voice Search optimized content is not just a collection of keywords, but must guide the user by answering their questions at every stage of the purchasing journey.
- Create a well-structured FAQ section in the main areas of the site.
- Organize the content clearly, with explicit titles in question style (How to…, Where to find…, What is the best…).
3. Content quality: precise and useful answers
There is a key principle at the basis of Voice Search Optimization: the user wants immediate and precise answers. Here are some best practices:
- Write short and direct sentences (maximum 30 words).
- Answer the question immediately, then provide further details.
- Use a natural and conversational tone.
Credits: some mistakes to avoid
Optimizing content for voice search is essential, but it is equally important to avoid mistakes that could compromise the effectiveness of your strategies. Here are some mistakes to avoid:
- Ignoring the user’s intent: Voice searches are often based on specific questions. Make sure your content directly answers these questions, avoiding vague or generic answers.
- Neglecting mobile optimization: Most voice searches are done via mobile devices. A site that is not optimized for mobile can negatively affect ranking.
- Using complex language: Voice assistants interpret simple and natural phrases better. Avoid technical terms that could confuse the voice recognition system.
Post-credits scene: Social Media
If you’ve stayed this far, it means you were expecting this Stan Lee-style ending with a classic post-credits scene.
A preview of what the next chapter of the saga will be: if you manage social media channels, pay close attention, voice search is here to stay and is changing the way we interact with the web.
Don’t underestimate SEO on social media, optimize your content so that it can be easily found by users who increasingly use Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn as a search engine.
And if you have a YouTube channel, your content (videos and shorts) cannot afford not to have an SEO strategy. Here too, using keywords correctly can help you appear in the SERP and be recommended by voice assistants.
A little advice we’d like to give you is to use keywords that are already associated with existing videos on the first page of Google, for example instead of “SEO techniques” you should use “SEO Tutorials”.
Believe us 3000.
*featured image created with Sora IA generation starting from a frame of the movie The Avengers
