In 2017, it was reported by Internet Trends that a whopping 20% of searches on a mobile device were voice-activated searches and this number is continuing to rise. This means that SEO cannot be solely focused on text anymore. Here is how you can adapt your SEO for Google voice search.
Check Your Page Performance Speed
The speed that your page runs at has a huge impact on where your site ranks during searches. This becomes even more apparent during voice searches. If you want to check your website speed, you can use GTMetrix alongside Google’s own PageSpeed Insights. Both of these online tools can be used to score and audit the speed of your page and will also provide insights into how to improve this. Once you understand your baseline speed, look at fixing any problems or broken links, compressing down any images and minimising code. To improve page speed performance, it is recommended that you choose a reliable and fast hosting provider who offers a CDN (Content Delivery Network). It may be that choosing a plan that costs more is worth it.
The Bigger the Better
When using a search engine, you may find that pages that have more in-depth and high-quality information are favoured, and voice searches are very much the same. Bearing this in mind, your content should be comprehensive and at least 2,000 words long. Rather than substituting your current SEO efforts, find a way to compliment them, as voice search results often bring up pages that already have an established authority within traditional SEO.
Organise Data Differently
We speak a lot differently than we type or read text, and therefore, it may be that you need to organise the data on your website in a different manner. Schema is one tool that allows you to organise data in this way, yet there are a number of tools available to do so. Tools such as this one act like an outline and organise code and data for voice-enabled device searches. It may not improve your voice search SEO ranking, but it does allow search engines to more accurately understand your page.
Use FAQ Formatting
When you think about how people voice search, you can understand why websites who use FAQ formatting are more likely to come up on top. As voice recognition continues to improve, putting data in your website in a more conversational style allows for your page to come up on top. FAQ formatting allows for a better structure for those using voice search. Think about the most common questions that may be asked regarding your business or product and use this as a starting point.
With AI becoming a large part of technology, optimising your page for voice search is extremely important to stay ahead of the competition.