Voice search has been growing in popularity. In 2024, there were more than 1 billion voice searches every month.* Voice search is defined as "technology that allows users to perform searches using voice commands instead of typing". With voice assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant built into our phones and home devices, and our need for speed and convenience, it's no surprise voice search is popular. Here are some practical ways to optimise your content so it ranks better in voice search results.
Search behaviour has changed
Typing a search into Google and speaking to Google Assistant are two very different things. I remember the earlier days of Google, when it wasn't as powerful as it is now, and I had to use a very specific string of terms to find what I needed. With voice search, it's always a question or a short request, and it's conversational.
There's undeniably a shift towards more conversational language in search. Perhaps we saw it first with autocomplete, when you type an open question and the suggestions are ridiculous (see this hilarious Reddit thread if you've got time).
As a result, people prefer longer, more natural-sounding phrases and questions. And get this: there's less focus on keywords, with only 1.71% of exact keywords appearing in the title tag of results returned by voice search. Google searches the entire page and plays back the most relevant section.
1. Understand voice search terms
You have two choices with keywords. Either you step into the highly competitive and expensive world of popular keywords, or you explore long-tail keywords. What are long-tail keywords? Longer, more specific phrases that attract less traffic, but higher-quality traffic: people who are more likely to engage and connect with your organisation.
People are typically searching for queries that are:
- Informational: "What is the capital city of Spain?"
- Navigational: "Where is the nearest petrol station to me?"
- Transactional: "How do I pay my TV licence?"
Takeaway action
Think about structuring some of your content around questions starting with who, what, where, when, why and how.
You could also use tools like AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked, which draws on Google's People Also Ask, to find common questions in your area.
2. Create conversational content
There's nothing more off-putting than overly formal, jargon-filled content that makes us hunt for the answer we're looking for. Your writing needs a natural, conversational tone to reach your audience.
Address user needs
I often talk about user needs. With my background in government, those two words are basically tattooed on both hands. It's so important to think about user needs, or intent, when writing content, and the age-old advice still stands:
- Write your user needs. For example: "As a ballerina, I need to find a good ballet school near me so that I can practise regularly."
- Write your content plan. To continue the example: a list of ballet schools, their standard, location by postcode and opening times, and what makes a good ballet school.
- Write your first draft, then simplify it, either with a peer review or with the help of an AI tool like ChatGPT.
Don't have user needs? A workshop can help you understand who your audience is, what they're trying to do, and the content they should be able to find to meet that need. Get in touch to talk it through.
Use focused FAQs
For years, I told subject matter experts not to rely on FAQs, because they became a never-ending pit of questions. In hindsight, what we really wanted to avoid was big repositories of random, cluttered topics. With voice search, it's worth thinking about FAQs in a more focused, structured way.
Speak to your enquiries, customer service or support team to find out the most popular questions, and write an article with the question in the title. At the very least, it gives your team something to share, so they don't have to keep repeating themselves.
3. Optimise for featured snippets
Adapting your content for Google's featured snippets is a great way to improve visibility. You can't make it happen at the press of a button, but there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of being picked up by Google.
Takeaway action
- Structure your content to answer the question directly in the first 100 to 150 words.
- Use bullet points or numbered lists when you have more than three items.
- Make sure the content sits on a page dedicated to that subject. For example, a featured snippet about cleaning your car is likely to come from a page dedicated to "How to wash a car".
For your keyword strategy, use Google Search Console or tools like Semrush to research valuable keywords. Then try out 1 or 2 popular questions that include those keywords, to shape blog posts, landing page themes or subheadings on a page.
Conclusion
As with many of the latest recommendations for Google search, it comes down to concise, well-written content, and avoiding formal, stuffy language that alienates your audience. I look at tone of voice and content guidelines as part of every content strategy.
Further reading
- Voice Search Optimisation: Best Practices for 2024: further advice on optimising content, with examples, from Content Whale.
- Mastering Voice Search SEO: Essential Strategies in 2024: conversational keywords and optimising content for mobile devices, from APNTech.
- The Ultimate Guide to Voice Search Optimisation in 2024: conversational language, featured snippets, and using audio content like podcasts to improve voice search rankings, from Propel Brand Story.
*Statistic from DemandSage voice search statistics.
First published on Cultivate Your Content, 25 June 2024.