3 Simple Steps to Make Your Website Voice Search Friendly

Voice search is a growing trend in the digital world, especially with the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants. According to a report by Juniper Research, voice-based ad revenue could reach $19 billion by 2024. This means that optimizing your website for voice search is not only a good idea, but a necessity.

But how do you make your website voice search friendly? Here are three simple steps to follow:

Step 1: Understand how people use voice search

The first step to optimize your website for voice search is to understand how people use it and what they are looking for. Voice search is different from text-based search in several ways:

• Voice search is more conversational and natural. People tend to use longer and more complex queries when they speak than when they type. For example, someone might type “best pizza near me” but say “Where can I get a good pizza around here?”
• Voice search is more mobile and local. People often use voice search when they are on the go or looking for something nearby. For example, someone might say “How do I get to the nearest gas station?” or “What’s the weather like today?”
• Voice search is more intent-driven and action-oriented. People use voice search when they want to get something done quickly or easily. For example, someone might say “Call mom” or “Play some music”.

To optimize your website for voice search, you need to understand the intent and context of your potential customers and provide them with relevant and useful information.

How to understand voice search intent and context

One way to understand voice search intent and context is to use tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console to analyze your website’s traffic and performance. You can look at metrics like:

• The devices and browsers that your visitors use
• The keywords and phrases that your visitors use
• The pages and content that your visitors view
• The actions and conversions that your visitors take

By analyzing these metrics, you can get insights into how people use voice search to find your website and what they are looking for.

Another way to understand voice search intent and context is to conduct surveys or interviews with your target audience. You can ask them questions like:

• How often do you use voice search?
• What devices do you use for voice search?
• What kind of queries do you use for voice search?
• What kind of information do you expect from voice search?
• What kind of problems or challenges do you face with voice search?

By asking these questions, you can get feedback from your potential customers and learn about their needs and preferences.

Step 2: Optimize your content for voice search

The second step to optimize your website for voice search is to optimize your content for voice search. Here are some tips to do that:

Use natural language and long-tail keywords

Since voice search queries are more conversational and natural, you need to use natural language and long-tail keywords in your content. Long-tail keywords are phrases that are more specific and less competitive than short-tail keywords. For example, instead of using “pizza” as a keyword, you can use “best pizza delivery in New York”.

To find long-tail keywords for your content, you can use tools like Keyword Tool or Ubersuggest. These tools can help you generate keyword ideas based on what people are searching for on Google or other platforms.

You can also use tools like AnswerThePublic or Google’s People Also Ask feature to find out what questions people are asking related to your topic. Then, you can create content that answers those questions using natural language.

For example, if you have a website about gardening, you can create content that answers questions like “How do I grow tomatoes?” or “What are the best plants for shady areas?”

Answer common questions and provide solutions

Since voice search queries are more intent-driven and action-oriented, you need to answer common questions and provide solutions in your content. You can use tools like AnswerThePublic or Google’s People Also Ask feature to find out what questions people are asking related to your topic. Then, you can create content that answers those questions and provides solutions.

For example, if you have a website about gardening, you can create content that answers questions like “How do I grow tomatoes?” or “What are the best plants for shady areas?”

You can also use formats like FAQs (frequently asked questions), how-to guides, tutorials, checklists, etc. to provide clear and concise answers and solutions.

For example, if you have a website about recipes, you can create content that provides FAQs like “How do I make pizza dough?” or how-to guides like “How to make lasagna in 5 easy steps”.

Use structured data and schema markup

Structured data and schema markup are ways of adding extra information to your website that helps search engines understand what your content is about and how it relates to other things. This can help your website appear in rich snippets, which are enhanced results that show more information than regular results. Rich snippets can include images, ratings, prices, reviews, etc.

For example, if you have a website about recipes, you can use schema markup to add information like ingredients, cooking time, calories, etc. This can help your website appear in rich snippets like this:

To use structured data and schema markup, you can use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper or Schema.org. These tools can help you generate the code that you need to add to your website.

Step 3: Optimize your website for speed and mobile-friendliness

The third step to optimize your website for voice search is to optimize your website for speed and mobile-friendliness. Since voice search is more mobile and local, you need to make sure that your website loads fast and works well on mobile devices. Here are some tips to do that:

Use a responsive design

A responsive design is a way of designing your website that adapts to different screen sizes and devices. This can help your website look good and function well on mobile devices.

You can use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or Responsive Design Checker to check how your website looks on different devices.

Compress images and videos

Images and videos are great for engaging your visitors, but they can also slow down your website if they are too large or not optimized. You can use tools like TinyPNG or HandBrake to compress your images and videos without losing quality.

Minify code and enable caching

Minifying code means removing unnecessary spaces, comments, and characters from your code that can make it longer and harder to read. Caching means storing some parts of your website on the user’s browser so that they don’t have to load them every time they visit your website. These techniques can help your website load faster and save bandwidth.

You can use tools like HTMLMinifier or WP Super Cache to minify code and enable caching on your website.

Conclusion

Voice search is a powerful way to reach and engage your potential customers. By following these three simple steps, you can make your website voice search friendly and boost your online presence.

• Understand how people use voice search
• Optimize your content for voice search
• Optimize your website for speed and mobile-friendliness

If you need any help with optimizing your website for voice search, feel free to contact us. We are a team of experts who can help you create a voice search friendly website that attracts and converts more visitors.