Why Your Audience Is Using Voice Search<\/h2>\nVoice search, in many cases, is about convenience.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that it\u2019s popular among mobile users on the go. Would it surprise you, though, to find out more and more people are using it at home?<\/p>\n
According to the 2016 KPCB Internet Trends report<\/a>, 43 percent of people use voice search in their home<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
![\"reasons](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/reasons-voice-search.jpg\")
<\/a>And as the technology improves, so does the adoption of voice search on mobile devices and voice assistants like Google Home:<\/p>\n
![\"primary](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/voice-assistants-improved-tech.jpg\")
<\/a>Google is leading the charge to improve voice recognition technology.<\/p>\n
In November 2015, Google announced that the Google app had improved its capability to understand the meaning behind voice searches<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Voice Search Beyond the Mobile Device<\/h2>\nThe fact that over 40 percent of voice searches happen at home, versus around 20 percent happening on the go, presents a new level of complexity when we\u2019re thinking about how our brands can become a part of a person\u2019s daily search habits.<\/p>\n
What we don\u2019t know yet is the future of how voice assistants like Google Home will identify and serve up results.<\/p>\n
In many cases, devices like Google Home have to make complex decisions for you about which answer or result to serve up. This is unlike the traditional way of personally choosing among a set of blue links on a page, and voice search optimizations<\/a> must be accounted for.<\/p>\n
Voice search adds further complexity to local search results<\/a>, in particular.\u00a0For example, someone who has a broken water pipe might simply tell their Google Home device: \u201cMy plumbing is broken,\u201d versus a more traditional voice search like \u201cshow me plumbers in my local area\u201d or \u201cwho are the best plumbers in my area?\u201d<\/p>\n
Let’s not forget that search must also evolve to fit the tastes of new generations<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n
What we do know is that third-party integrations are happening that allow brands to integrate with Google virtual assistants<\/a> more seamlessly. And that\u2019s worth looking into.<\/p>\n
![\"sound](\"http:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sound-wave-on-phone-screen.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHow to Prepare Your SEO Strategy for Voice Search<\/h2>\nWe do, however, understand some things about voice search to date, and how it can impact your SEO strategy.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look closer at what you need to know about optimizing for voice search<\/a> to survive SEO as it becomes more and more the norm.<\/p>\n
Know Your Audience<\/h3>\nAs part of your voice search keyword research strategy, your company needs to be aware of how someone would look for your product or service if they were using a voice search.<\/p>\n
Remember, voice searches are more conversational and tend to center around questions instead of the two- or three-word queries that many people type.<\/p>\n
But they can also be declarative statements, like the one I used in the plumbing example earlier.<\/p>\n
As part of your research, create a list of voice searches you believe users would use. Brainstorm with your team. Peruse social media. Look at forums. Do whatever you need to do to come up with a good starting list for research.<\/p>\n
Know Your Results<\/h3>\n
We recommend in our SEO training class<\/a> that people start querying their brand, products and services using voice search to find out if they show up and how.<\/p>\n
Know Your Competition<\/h3>\nAs part of your SEO strategy, you want to find out who is, in fact, showing up for those voice search queries if not you \u2014 or who is ranking above you.<\/p>\n
Performing page-by-page analyses of the top 10 rankings, for example, for a voice search important to your business can help you better understand the logistics of the content on those top-ranking pages.<\/p>\n
Apply Voice Search Keyword Strategy and Website Optimization<\/h3>\n
The approach to optimizing web pages is the same \u2014 meaning you want to ensure you\u2019re following SEO best practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n
But you may choose to tweak your content.<\/p>\n
Where could you better answer many of the questions your target audience has?<\/p>\n
I mentioned integrations with Google Home<\/a>, and those are the types of things you\u2019ll want to watch out for, particularly for certain types of businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Still, with Google planning to take a mobile-first index approach<\/a>, you can\u2019t afford not to be there.<\/p>\n
Let us help you develop your voice search SEO strategy. Bruce Clay\u2019s tailor-made services drive your competitive advantage. Let\u2019s talk more about growing revenue through smarter search marketing.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to talk about today:<\/p>\n
Read Surviving SEO in a Voice Search World<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":42017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[104,1330],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"