What is Voice SEO?

If you’ve ever uttered the phrases “Ok, Google”, “Hey, Siri”, or “Alexa, set an alarm for 7AM”, you’ve used voice search. Voice search essentially lets users perform searches by speaking to their digital assistants on supported devices. Voice search engine optimisation is the optimisation of keywords and phrases for searches performed via voice assistants.

Why is it relevant?

As of 2019, almost a third (27%) of online users globally use voice search, a figure that rises to 40% in the United States, and that shows continued growth in popularity (a 9.7% increase by the end of 2021). With nearly every smartphone pre-equipped with a digital assistant and more smart home devices being sold every year, the use of voice search will only continue to grow.

Benefits of voice search over traditional search involves it being faster and easier to speak rather than type and the convenience of its availability when one’s hands are occupied (for e.g., while cooking a meal or while driving). This means a growing number of searches will be done using voice over traditional search.

Why is it important?

Voice search results tend to rank higher in search engine results (typically the top 3 positions). Therefore, from a business perspective, optimised content for voice search would mean higher conversions which in turn would mean more revenue.

With over 71% of consumers preferring voice search over other forms of typed searches, and one out of every five searches of Android being a voice search, capitalising on this opportunity is a can’t-miss. After all, you would not want to lose over 20% of your potential business.

What must be considered?

In order to optimise content and voice SEO, one must consider the following:

1. Question-based keywords – since people generally ask a whole question starting with who, what, why, where, or how.

2. Long-tail keywords – again since voice searches tend to be longer and more specific.

3. Conversational content – as most people talk to their digital assistants as they would to other humans, content must be optimised as you would speak it without overcomplicated words or corporate tones.

If reading this piqued your interest and you would like to learn more about utilising Voice SEO to help your team or business, Jigsaw Ensemble can help you out! Visit us at jgsw.com.au to get in touch with us and learn about other services we have to offer you.