The rapid rise of mobile phones and tablets has compelled the search engine optimizers to revise their strategies. Not only mobile search result is different from web search result, but smartphone and tab users search World Wide Web differently. The basic point of interaction between a user and a PC is keyboard. Computer users type to search, but nowadays handheld device owners simply speak to search. I am sure that when you first used digital, virtual assistants like Apple Siri, Google Now and Microsoft Cortana; you were very impressed. After all, you can simply ask “Will it rain today” or “Is there any restaurant near me?” and your phone/tablet will answer immediately.
Being an SEO expert California I believe that every company should focus on voice search and optimize the web pages accordingly to maintain top ranks in mobile search results. So, here I will discuss how voice search is different from text search and what SEO experts can do to get noticed by the voice searchers.
Voice search is question based: When you type to search something from your PC, for example, “Italian restaurant’, Google shows you links and you click on the link to know the location of the restaurant. However, when you search using Google Now or Apple Siri, you simply say “Is there any Italian restaurant near me?” Your phone locates your position on the map and the digital assistant shows only those Italian restaurants which are near to you.
What should SEO professionals do?
You should start using question terms like “where is”, “how much” etc. in your keywords to help voice search engines find your website faster. However, make sure that the question phrase you are using in the keyword is related to your business. For example, a restaurant owner can insert sentences like “Where is the best Italian restaurant in California? Well, fortunately, we are in Pasadena.” in his website service page. If people living in California ask Google Now “show me the best Italian restaurant”, then his site will rank high on SERP.
Voice search is lengthy: When you are searching for a wedding planner from PC, you may type “wedding planner” or “budget wedding planner” in Google. So, basically your query is not more than 2-3 words long. On the contrary, when you ask Siri, Google Now and Cortana using your voice, you may say, “contact details of local wedding planner” or “show me a list of budget wedding planners”. Voice search is always lengthy because you interact with your device just the way you interact with a human being.
What should SEO professionals do?
You should concentrate on long tail keywords and insert those that answer users’ queries. For example, a wedding planner can insert “affordable wedding planning in California” or “best budget wedding planner in California” in the web pages to attract mobile traffic.
In the coming years, voice search will increase at a steady rate because we have already heard that Cortana is coming in Windows 10 for PC users. So, this is the best time to get ready for the future when voice search will become the most favorite medium for people to search anything on World Wide Web.
