As voice search technology grows in popularity, online businesses must adapt their SEO strategies to keep up with the latest trends.
Voice search is no longer just a novelty but a crucial part of the online shopping experience.
Undoubtedly, technology today is experiencing the voice search revolution where every piece of technology will soon function on voice.
This means that optimizing your online store for voice search can help you reach a wider audience and increase sales.
Well, if you do not comprehend the magnitude of this snowball change, here are some statistics to grab your attention.
- 41% of adults and 55% of teens use voice search daily.
- 20% of all mobile-based Google search queries are voice searches.
- Since 2008, voice search has exponentially grown 35x times.
You see the popularity of smart voice devices such as Google Home or Amazon Echo at their peak.
Image Source: WordStream
So much so, 65% of Amazon Echo or Google Home owners cannot imagine returning.
More and more people are used to talking to their computers, desktop, smart house automation system, smart speakers, or their mobile phones.
Voice control can be applied to most household appliances such as fans, AC, lights, music systems, television, etc.
What is Voice Search SEO for Online Stores?
Voice search SEO for online stores refers to the process of optimizing an e-commerce website for voice search queries.
This includes using natural language and conversational phrases in website content, metadata, and product descriptions to help voice assistants understand the context of a user’s query.
Voice search SEO also involves ensuring a website has a clear structure and schema markup to help search engines easily crawl and index content.
How Does Voice Search Differ from Traditional Search?
Voice search differs from traditional search in several ways. First and foremost, voice search is a hands-free, convenient way for consumers to find information or products without typing on a keyboard or navigating through a website.
Unlike traditional search, voice search queries are longer and more conversational, often including natural language and questions.
Voice search also relies heavily on natural language processing (NLP), which enables voice assistants to understand the context and intent behind a user’s query.
The Importance of Voice Search for Online Stores
Voice search is becoming increasingly important for online stores as more and more consumers adopt voice assistants for their daily lives.
According to a survey by Perficient Digital, 55% of consumers use voice search to research products and make purchases.
By optimizing their e-commerce websites for voice search, online stores can increase their visibility in voice search results and reach a wider audience.
Additionally, voice search allows online stores to provide customers a more personalized shopping experience.
The Growth of Voice Search Technology
Voice search technology has grown rapidly in recent years, with the popularity of voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa driving adoption.
In fact, according to a report by Juniper Research, voice assistants are expected to be in use on 8 billion devices by 2023.
This growth has been fueled by advances in NLP, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, which have enabled voice assistants to better understand and respond to user queries.
Examples of Voice Search Assistants
There are several popular voice search assistants available today, including:
- Siri: Apple’s voice assistant, available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.
- Google Assistant: Google’s voice assistant, available on Android and iOS devices and Google Home devices.
- Amazon Alexa: Amazon’s voice assistant, available on Amazon Echo and other smart home devices.
- Microsoft Cortana: Microsoft’s voice assistant, available on Windows 10 devices and as an app on Android and iOS.
Why Voice Search SEO Matters for Online Stores
Voice search SEO matters for online stores because it can significantly impact the visibility and success of an e-commerce website.
By optimizing their website for voice search queries, online stores can increase their chances of appearing in voice search results and reaching a wider audience.
Voice Search’s Impact on Online Shopping
Voice search has had a significant impact on the way consumers shop online. According to a survey by PwC, 71% of consumers would rather use voice search than physically type their queries.
This shift in consumer behavior has led to a rise in voice-driven purchases, with 20% of consumers using voice assistants to make purchases.
Optimizing an e-commerce website for voice search can help online stores capture a larger share of these voice-driven purchases.
By using natural language and conversational phrases in product descriptions and metadata, online stores can make it easier for voice assistants to understand and match relevant products to a user’s query.
The Rise of Mobile Devices
The rise of mobile devices has also contributed to the growth of voice search. With more and more consumers using their smartphones to shop online, voice search provides a convenient and hands-free way to find products and make purchases.
According to a report by eMarketer, the number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to reach 3.8 billion by 2021.
As the use of mobile devices continues to rise, online stores will need to optimize their websites for voice search to remain competitive in the e-commerce space.
The Rise Of Voice Searches For Buyers
Voice search isn’t just an overhyped technological trend or a fad in which people are excited for only some time.
It is, in fact, the future of online searching on the web where spoken language to machines will be preferred over typing into the search box.
People were comfortable talking to their digital assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Google Home, Amazon Echo, or Microsoft’s Cortana.
Image Source: Paymill
These voice assistants are not just only limited to these specialized devices but also your smartphone.
Now such accessibility and ease in use also give a good reason to rethink your e-commerce marketing strategies.
Also, now you need to optimize your online store for voice search to rank in the voice-driven search result pages.
some statistics on how voice search optimization is significant for e-commerce SEO and marketing.
Image Source: Carson
- 50% of searches are now done using voice search.
- 55% of all the residents in the United States will own a smart speaker by 2022.
- 1 in every four buyers used a voice assistant for their holiday shopping in 2017. Now it has been only rising significantly.
- Another study says voice shopping will grow to $40 billion by 2022.
- In January 2018, voice search frequency went to 1 billion a month.
So everything clearly signifies how online sellers, e-commerce websites, and marketers must include voice search, SEO, and marketing in their plan.
In fact, another study says 62% of marketers are not taking voice searches into their accounts.
So in that case, it is critical that you get a competitive edge over them and start preparing for the voice search boom from now on only.
The Future of Voice Search
The future of voice search is bright, with experts predicting continued growth and adoption of voice assistants in the coming years. According to a report by Comscore, 50% of all searches are expected to be voice searches by 2020.
As voice search continues to evolve, online stores must stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in voice search SEO.
This includes using natural language and conversational phrases, optimizing for long-tail keywords, and providing a seamless mobile experience.
How To Optimize Your Content For Voice Search?
Optimizing For Voice Search Vs Typed Search
The intent, practices, and habits for voice search queries differ from the typed search queries.
You need to understand the difference to optimize the content, particularly for voice search.
Image Source: Slideshare
When you search through voice, context and intent, become the more integral part of the query.
The when, what, how, and where of the people’s search queries are as relevant as the keyword itself.
How People Are Searching
How you speak to your digital or voice assistants is different than the algorithm’s usual understanding.
Image Source: Elegant Themes
It is more conversational in tone than your typed keywords. So how you ask also affects the search results in the realm of voice search SEO.
Usually, you will type-search “ white sauce pasta recipe, “ whereas with the voice search, you are more likely to use “ how do I make white sauce pasta.”
The voice search queries are more question-driven as people ask their voice assistants queries with specific answers and then follow up on them.
Google’s Hummingbird Update
The working of this search algorithm can be comprehended through Google’s Hummingbird update.
Image Source: Alchemy Interactive
Google, with this update, focuses more on “answers” rather than “results”.
So when you voice-search something, it will give you an exact answer rather than pulling up the whole article or web links.
It matches the context and user intent with the current requirements of the voice search based on the asked terms.
Optimizing Micro-Moments
You need to optimize your targeted micro-moments when it comes to optimizing your content for voice search queries.
So What are micro-moments?
Well, these are intent variation or understanding of the search algorithm for the searcher’s asked terms.
Image Source: UX Collective
Google has defined four primary types of micro-moments to different the intent of the searcher :
- I-want-to-know moments
- I-want-to-go moments
- I-want-to-do moments
- I-want-to-buy moments
Optimizing your content according to one of these micro-moments makes it more likely to rank higher on search engines for the targeted audience.
It will also boost your conversion rate to the roof if you learn to optimize your content accordion to these micro-moments.
When People Search
When someone is voice searching also makes a difference in the search results and how you need to optimize your website accordingly.
You do voice searches from home, office, on travel, or between transits all the time.
So most of the time, people tend to use their mobile for voice searches. Especially when they are traveling or driving.
Image Source: WordStream
One of the most popular voice searches are like “_____ near me now,” where Google uses its geolocation data to offer them an answer.
This varies in Google and Siri’s case as they have different geographic databases.
Google prefers to read out the answer if found in the featured snippet of their search results.
What you need to take away here is that people use voice search when looking for a quick answer rather than reading long paragraphs or blogs.
So now, when you optimize your voice search content, it should focus on giving clear and concise answers to the questions.
What People Search For
When someone is searching for something through voice, it is more likely they are looking for micro-data, and not detailed information.
They are more specific and intent-driven search queries. Google understands the audience’s requirement for getting a quick, direct answer in their voice results.
It is more than possible that the searcher is not ready or wants to visit the website to read out everything to get their answer.
Google, in this case, read out the featured snippet section of their search results as it is already optimized to answer your specifically-asked question.
How to Use Voice Search SEO to Boost Your E-Commerce Business:
Tip # : Be in the Position Zero On Google
The whole point of search engine optimization is to rank higher on Google search results.
And the first position is the highest of all, more prone to clicking than other positioned websites.
But have you wondered what is even better than the number one position on Google? Well, it is called “zero position” on Google.
Now how would you achieve that? You need to be in the featured snippet section of Google searches.
Image Source: Search Engine Watch
If you want to rank highest in voice searches, which means the voice assistant will read out your answer, you need to get into featured snippets.
However, it is not really guaranteed that your answer will be read out.
So you need to aim for your best chances, and that’s about getting your content to appear in the featured snippets.
Here’s what you should to rank your content in the featured snippet :
- Write content based on “most asked questions”.
- Do include more and more FAQs in your blog/website
- Optimize your content for zero position
- Write only 40-50 words short introduction
- Make sure you use bullet points or tables as much as possible.
- Use a numbered list when required.
- Avoid too long paragraphs.
- Do not write lengthy or complicated sentences.
Tip # : Knowing Your Customers
Knowing your customers is the most obvious and highly significant marketing strategy.
That’s what you need to target them, serve their better product, more customized offers, and more on.
Voice search optimization is no different. Search algorithms need to understand how the person on the other end responds.
So, the more your content is tailored for your target audience, the higher chances for search engines to pick it up for the answers.
Make sure you define your target audience and customize your content accordingly.
You can even incorporate audience-sensitive key phrases into your content to make answers more specific.
Pro Tip: One of the most peculiar habits of your target customers you can generally understand is that they use their voice assistant on the go. That means you need to optimize your website and content for mobile.
Tip # : Understanding The Difference Between Voice Search Terms and Typed Search Terms
It doesn’t matter how obvious it sounds to you, but it’s not happening if you do not really understand its implication in voice-search optimization, it’s not happening.
In this voice-activated e-commerce world, you need to understand the simple fact that people don’t speak-search the way they type-search.
That means you do not need to optimize your content but actually write it in a way that it is more prone to listening rather than just reading.
You need to see your content more like conversational-driven information you want to pass on.
Voice search demands a behavioral shift in how people communicate on their devices.
For instance :
To know the weather in California, you would type-search something like “weather California”.
However, you won’t ask your voice assistant or digital assistant. Rather you would ask something like “ Siri, What will the weather be like in California? “
So to make it work, you need to think of your content more like a conversation. Optimizing your content with the context of voice search gives you higher ground in ranking.
It increases your chances of counting as Google answers to be read out on specific voice search terms or questions.
And since these voice search terms are more like questions, you need to focus on long-tail keywords and FAQs to optimize your content.
Pro Tip : Don’t hesitate to make your blog content conversational and your product descriptions.
Tip # : Focus More On Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords become an essential part of your keyword research when it comes to voice search.
As you know, voice search commands or queries are basically questions or very long-tail keywords and phrases.
So you need to focus less on short keywords and more on question-based search terms.
Image Source: Neil Patel
The long-tail keywords even have varieties such as long informative keywords or question-based keywords.
Also, long-tail keywords are not generic and more specific, so they have less competition to beat and make your content or website easier to rank.
You have to target the long-tail keywords even with filler words such as “to,” “and,” “the,” and so on.
Voice searches are casually asked queries and are more conversational in tone. These queries are often asked on the run.
So make sure you optimize your content accordingly, increasing your chance for ranking.
Tip # : Write As You Are Answering Specific Questions Clearly & Concisely
You need to understand the way you optimize your content for voice search SEO is not the same as usual Google SEO.
Because people search through voice by asking questions, not specific search terms.
As you know, for voice search, they are not going to type in but search by asking questions in a conversational tone.
So you need to focus more on writing your content to the subject of the answer to something.
It should be clear, concise, and to-the-point as it is made to prove a point or answer a question.
Pro Tip : Do your keyword research based on relevant and more common questions and answers rather than keywords or phrases.
Tip # : Optimizing Voice Search For Local
Lot of mobile-related voice searches on the web are more likely to be demographic-based.
This means their search terms or queries are connected to where they live. It can be asking about the nearest coffee shop or finding the best doctor in their area.
Especially for local stores or e-commerce stores based on particular locations need to optimize their content locally.
For example: If you sell handicraft items in California but also online. Someone in your area asked their voice assistant, “ Siri, find me the best handicraft items store in California?”
Well, if you have optimized your content with California related keywords, your result is more likely to be answered by that person.
Pro Tip: Make your content focused locally. Add keywords like ‘locally sourced” and your location in your content.
Tip # : Prefer Semantic Strategy Over Keyword-Driven Strategy
Semantics is basically the study of the interpretation of language, creating meaning where context is important to the language.
Usually, search engines practice attempting their search results more humanely and comprehend for context or meaning.
However, it still relies a lot on the exact words typed in the search box without the searcher’s context for it.
Image Source: WordStream
Search engine algorithms are improving over time and try to read the semantics of the search term and understand the responses.
In terms of voice SEO, it is to make more like a human-like conversation.
So algorithms need to know why you are asking what you are asking to customize the answer accordingly.
You can use this as leverage to rank your content over others on the search engines as it is optimized with semantic strategy, not keywords drove.
Pro Tip: You must mix keywords, search terms, and phrases to improve your answer’s relevance and relativity with more questions.
Tip #: Learning About Intent Behind The Words
Well, this is quite like semantic-strategy keyword research but more focused. You need to understand the intent behind the searcher’s search query.
How often have you found something else on Google while searching for something entirely else?
That happens because Google misinterpreted your search query and couldn’t find the content resembling your intent on the web.
Optimizing Through Intent-Driven Keywords
So, to utilize this function, you need to optimize your content for more intent-driven keywords.
You need to optimize your content based on your keywords’ meaning to the searcher.
For Example, if someone is searching “ buy wireless headphones under $100”, you need to understand the intent behind the keyword.
This means the searcher has already decided on his budget to buy the headphones, which is “$100”; he or she is also specifically looking for” wireless” headphones.
It seems more likely that person will buy the product at the moment. He or she has a buyer’s intent toward the keyword.
So you write your content considering the reader wants to buy. This helps your content optimize the best for the visitor.
Tip: Finding the Right Voice Search Keywords
You already know how voice search keywords are different from typed-based search keywords.
The usual keyword length in the voice search tends to get longer because that’s how people speak.
Image Source: Ahref
So here,, when looking for voice search keywords to optimize your content, you must look for more natural language long keywords.
These keywords are also supposed to be conversational and/or in question format. They are also usually more than five words.
Voice searches are usually or mostly done as very naturally spoken questionnaires.
Image Source: Wordtracker
For Example, if a general keyword is “how to promote ebooks?”, the voice search for this keyword will be something like “ How do I promote my ebook to get more sales” or “How do I promote my ebook for free?”
You can always type in the Google search bar and look for suggestions related to it. These keywords can be really helpful in optimizing your content.
So to find them, you can use various SEO or keyword based tools such as Ubersugest or AnswerThePublic.com to generate question-based queries from your primary keyword.
Further, you can always use online forums and social media groups to find out what are some commonly asked questions.
Tip #: Optimizing Your Content Using Voice Search Keywords
When you find all your relevant voice search keywords, you need to optimize your content utilizing those voice search keywords.
Image Source: TheManifest
Optimizing your content using voice search keywords is an integral aspect of optimizing the content for voice search for higher ranking.
Here are the different ways to optimize it using the keywords :
Select Your Topic According To Your Voice Search Keyword
Focus on building more relevant content related to your voice search keyword.
The best way is to create content on the most commonly asked questions, which also happens to be your voice search keywords.
These commonly asked questions can be about a brand, product, service, or any topic.
Your content needs to focus on all the “what, where, who, why, and how” aspect of the topic.
Also, that’s how people ask questions about any particular topic starting with these terms.
Pro Tip: Don’t over optimize your page for the exact voice search keyword. Just make sure it is in the title for sure.
Optimizing Long Form Content
Choose the long form content to rank your website through voice search optimization.
It allows you to embed as many answers as possible in one piece of content. Also, long-form content has more capability of featuring long-tail keywords naturally.
Such kinds of pages tend to rank more easily than others. Just make sure you do not overstuff your content.
It should be as natural as possible regarding length and long-tail keyword optimization.
Optimizing Short Form Content
Since long form content tends to rank more easily due to the higher capability of long-tail keyword optimization and content satisfaction, short-form content is useful in different ways.
Image Source: Moz
You need to write short form content in the form of FAQ pages because these are easier to get featured in Google snippets.
Ranking for such web pages is also not difficult, especially if you can outrank your competition.
Optimizing For Featuring As Google Featured Snippets
Brian Dean’s research tells that 40.7% of the voice search results are what shows up as the Google featured snippet.
So you need to optimize your content to be featured as a search engine snippet to land for voice search results.
It increases the chances of your content being shown as voice results for the targeted keywords.
One of the best tricks to optimize your content for featuring as a snippet is to use a code markup to direct Google crawl for recognition.
Voice Search Analytics: How to Track Your Results
Tracking the performance of your voice search SEO efforts is essential for measuring success and identifying areas for improvement.
By using voice search analytics tools, online stores can gain valuable insights into how their website performs in voice search results and adjust their strategies accordingly.
- Set up a Voice Search Analytics Tool
The first step in tracking your voice search results is to set up a voice search analytics tool. Several tools are available, including Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Ahrefs.
These tools can help you track the performance of your website in voice search results, including the number of voice search queries and the keywords used in those queries.
- Monitor Your Voice Search Traffic
Once you have set up your analytics tool, monitoring your voice search traffic is important. This will help you track any changes in your website’s performance and identify any issues that may be affecting your rankings.
- Analyze Your Keywords
Analyzing your keywords is an important part of tracking your voice search results. By identifying the keywords that are driving the most traffic to your website, you can optimize your content to target those keywords and improve your rankings.
- Monitor Your Competitors
Monitoring your competitors is also important for tracking your voice search results. By analyzing their strategies and performance, you can identify areas where you may need to improve or adjust your own strategies.
- Use Rich Snippets
Using rich snippets in your content can also help improve your voice search rankings. Rich snippets provide additional information about your website and products, such as ratings, reviews, and pricing information, making your website more appealing to voice search users.
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