Voice Search is more popular than ever thanks to the rise in Smart Devices and Smart Speakers, so it’s a wise marketing decision to turn your attention to making sure your content can be found via Voice Search, below we list how you can optimise for Voice Search in 2019.

Claim and optimise your Google My Business Listing and other local listings

Voice search is inherently local, with queries like “what’s showing at the cinema?” or “Where’s the nearest pizza place?”.  Google Assistant will check your location and look through the list of Google My Business listings, and will pick the one which is the most relevant, or most optimised. Other Voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana use Bing to search the web, so it’s essential you check your Bing Maps listings and other directory listings to make sure that the content displayed is correct and relevant.

Add Schema Markup to your site

Schema markup is a big part of SEO, so it makes sense that it’s also one of the driving forces behind Voice Search.

Adding schema markup allows Search Engines and Voice Assistants to pick up key parts of your page. For example, if you’ve posted a recipe on your site, you can optimise it with structured data (schema), such as: how long it will take, the ingredients needed and the instructions. This will allow the voice assistants to pick up this content and show it to the user.

Optimise for Mobile Searches

With mobile being the most popular way to search, you’ve got to make sure your website is fully optimised for mobile. This doesn’t just mean creating a responsive website, but also making sure that your website has reviews and the correct address across the board.

Try to keep your keywords natural

Voice searches are more natural than text search, which means that your keywords should reflect that, by optimising your pages with natural language keywords, you’ll find it far easier to rank for Voice Search queries.  When you perform keyword research, rather than solely looking at metrics such as Search Volume and Seasonal Trends, look at whether the keyword is conversational.

Implementing Organic Search tactics

Just because Voice Search is new and different to standard Organic Search, doesn’t mean you should start slacking when it comes to standard SEO. A well performing site, which is well optimised should have no problem ranking for Voice search terms. You may have to do some tweaking to your content and meta data, but that’s part of normal SEO best practices anyway.

As Smart Devices and Assistants get smarter your content should too, but as long as you stick to SEO best practices and keep your content regularly updated, you shouldn’t have a problem with ranking for Voice Search queries. At Square Media, we love to see the developments of Smart Assistants as they get better and skill sets get deeper.

Here at Square Media, we pride ourselves with being expert Search Marketers, keeping up to date with the latest in Digital and Search Marketing. If you’re looking for someone to optimise your SEO, whether it’s for Voice or standard Organic search, we’re more than happy to help.