Benefits of optimizing your business for voice search
When businesses first heard of voice search optimization, most considered it a trendy tech gimmick that wouldn’t last. Fast forward a few years and now everyone is scrambling to optimize for voice searches. Unfortunately, some people still doubt the overall use of reworking their website to accommodate for these types of searches. In this article, we will discuss the most important benefits of optimizing your business for voice search. Hopefully, this will help you understand the value of voice optimization and let you get a leg up on the competition.
6 benefits of optimizing your business for voice search
SEO statistics are showing a growing trend in terms of voice searches. As consumers continue to lower their tolerance for page loading time and search for answers online, it is becoming essential for search engines to provide ways to make the entire process more convenient and efficient. Thus, by optimizing your business for voice search, you can gain a significant advantage and the opportunity to tap into a new source of leads. But there are other benefits to consider here as well:
#1: It can improve your SEO efforts
The main goal of optimizing your business for voice search is to improve your SEO and to achieve more organic traffic. You can bring more visitors to your site by optimizing for users who prefer searching by voice. Going out of your way to accommodate these users necessitates rethinking how you approach SEO in the first place.
Users structure voice searches differently than text searches. They usually have a more relaxed tone, looser syntax, and a larger word count. You can go over your old content as well and adapt it for voice searches. However, many of the traditional SEO principles still apply, so you might want to seek out help from experts in SEO services in New York who can maximize the ROI of your optimization efforts.
#2: Google is investing in voice search capabilities of their engine
Whenever you are unsure if a certain tech trend is worthwhile, you can look to Google. They have realized the importance of voice searches and made sure that they have a horse in that race. Android devices default to using the internally developed “Hey Google” for voice searches. Google has also developed a smart speaker called Google Nest in order to compete with Amazon’s Alexa assistant. Google’s focus on developing speech recognition algorithms only reaffirms the importance voice searches will have in the future.
As many webmasters already know, you either go along with what Google is doing or you are almost invisible to online audiences. Although Google offered voice search way back in 2011, back then it wasn’t popular or widespread. Nowadays voice searching has become an important feature websites need to account for. One of the most important benefits of optimizing your business for voice search is that Google itself will recognize this and promote your website to users. You can get on Google’s good graces before the trend gets overused.
#3: The number of voice searches is growing each year
It’s no secret that mobile users are dominating the internet landscape. Plenty of them is using voice functions to perform searches, browse the web and navigate sites. While Google hasn’t disclosed the exact statistics regarding the number of voice searches, it is estimated that one in five web searches in the U.S. is done by voice.
Digital assistants have existed for years, and every smartphone has voice functionality. Every year we can see more and more standalone devices on the market, like Amazon’s Echo Dot or Apple’s HomePod. Therefore it’s imperative that you include voice search optimization into your website. Otherwise, you will lose all the searches coming through these devices. If you are in need of specialists for web design NYC, you can contact us for a consultation on how you should approach reworking your website.
#4: Voice optimization get more hits from local searches
Besides looking to the future and how trends will develop, it’s also useful to consider how people are currently using voice searches. Most people rely on voice searches when they need local results. A typical voice search is often structured something along the lines of “Hey Google, where is the nearest restaurant?” This type of search definitely favors businesses that decide to optimize for local searches.
In order to get the most benefits from optimizing your business for voice search, you should also consider local phrases and terms. Think about how people in your area speak and structure their sentences. The way they ask questions in casual speech will probably influence how they use voice search functions. Keep that in mind when optimizing your website and its content to increase the number hits you get from local searches.
#5: Optimize for voice searches by answering common questions
Most people use voice searches when they aren’t sitting at a computer keyboard, or even actively using their phone. Voice searches are convenient when people’s hands are occupied or when they are busy doing something. Therefore, it goes to reason that voice searches are frequently used to get quick answers.
One of the main benefits of optimizing your business for voice searches is that you will get a lot of hits from users who need their questions answered on the spot. Most digital marketing agencies in New York recommend that you include FAQ pages on your website as a way to establish yourself as the go-to source for trusted information in your area of business. Optimizing your FAQ pages for voice searches will let you cast a wide net and significantly increase your organic traffic.
#6: Optimizing your business for voice search creates a better customer experience
In the last several years there has been a strong push for accessibility in web design. Allowing more users to access your website and get the information they need isn’t only noble, it has a positive effect on your bottom line as well. On the other hand, there are users who are excited to use cutting-edge technology. Improve their user experience by allowing them to navigate your website using only their voice. You can start that process by optimizing your site and content.
In summary
Ten years ago voice searches were a novelty feature, which not many businesses cared for. Over time, the benefits of optimizing your business for voice search have become obvious and undeniable. More importantly, this is still a developing technology that’s been embraced by both users and developers. We are yet to see the full impact of voice search optimization on websites. All things considered, you should still consider optimizing for voice searches. If you don’t, your competition might leave you behind. It’s far better to be ahead than to play catch-up.
