When Google’s new mobile update rolled out, people noticed that there was an emphasis placed on pages that are optimized for mobile. This means that marketers need to consider voice search services, like Siri and Google Now, when making plans for updating their search strategies this year.
Keyword-focused queries have been a point of contention with Google for quite some time. While keywords are a vital part of optimized web content, it’s possible to over-optimize. When content is stuffed with keywords, Google takes notice and penalizes you for it.
The increase in mobile browsing, including spoken and more conversational searches, has reinforced the need to avoid stuffing keywords wherever you can fit them. When you’re developing your content, consider how natural speech could influence the keywords you choose.
As voice searching becomes more popular, there are three steps you can take to incorporate voice search into your website.
Step 1: Analyze the questions your customers are already asking. Pay attention to the “who, what, where, why and how.” (I like to think of myself as the Sherlock Holmes of SEO copywriting.) Make sure to answer these questions on your various outlets (i.e. blogs, social media and the FAQ section of your webpage).
Step 2: Use natural voice to write your webpage content. Doing so will market you as a conversational brand, make you more approachable for your customers and encourage customers to use natural speech in their voice searches.
Step 3: Consider switching your keywords to long-tail. If your customers are using longer phrases to search, you should include more words in your keywords.
Luckily, Google does not currently plan on penalizing websites for failing to create voice search friendly content. However, chances are the most successful website of 2016 will eventually begin to cater to browsers using voice search.
SEO trends will continue to change as technology advances. For this reason, it is vital to keep yourself and your business equipped with the latest knowledge. One easy way to do this is to begin checking SEO Advantage’s SEO-e blog and knowledge center as a part of your normal routine.
