Do people speak the same way they type? Not really.
And with the release of voice-activated search on smartphones and smart TVs, traditional typing search queries are giving way to conversational, voice-driven interactions.
And this can affect the way you approach SEO.
How to optimize SEO for voice-activated devices?
There are three things to pay attention to in particular:
1) Recognize conversational words
Start with words or phrases that are more frequently spoken than typed.
If you’re stuck, record yourself talking about your company. Notice the informal words that sneak into your discussion.
That should be the starting point of your keyword research. Don’t be afraid to incorporate slang here either!
2) Focus on long-tail keywords.
Voice searches are inherently conversational.
Users may ask “Where’s the nearest pizza place that’s open right now?” but type “pizza near me open.”
Focus on long-tail keywords and phrases that mirror natural spoken language.
3) Optimize for Google’s featured snippets.
Voice-activated devices love pulling answers from Google’s featured snippets.
So structure your content to provide clear, concise answers to common questions related to your industry.
Use headers and bullet points for easy content digestion.
It reads, but it listens too
It might not seem important to optimize your SEO for voice-driven content, but a huge proportion of your customers are using these features.
You don’t want to leave them behind!
