Voice Search in 2018: What You Need to Know
Brian Dean of Backlinko recently published an analysis of ranking factors for voice search. "How do you optimize your site for voice search?" Dean asked. His answer emphasizes the importance of page speed, domain authority, HTTPS security, and the relative simplicity and length of content--all SEO staples.
The value of Backlinko's analysis is the minutiae, which is best suited for SEOs. The details may help guide SEOs evolving efforts to optimize for today's information-hungry consumers, who search on a variety of platforms, including desktop, mobile, and voice assistants.
How do you optimize for each platform? And what platform is most important for your site?
Website owners pay SEOs to answer these questions. In turn, SEOs equip themselves with information to optimize each site in a unique way. A good strategy for one site may not be good for another.
In most cases, though, similar optimization techniques work for each platform. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to optimize for desktop and mobile and voice. And again, recognizing the differences that do exist, say between desktop and mobile page speed, and optimizing for each, is the work of SEOs.
Website owners can dispense with the minutiae. However, an engaged website owner should understand the nuances of search. The details of Backlinko's analysis may be for SEOs, for example, but a website owner who understands the key takeaways of voice search will be better equipped to guide digital marketing efforts.
Voice Technology: A Brief History
Siri was met with contempt when she was introduced to the iPhone, in 2011. As late as last April (2017), the Wikipedia article on Siri falsely claimed without any attributions, "Siri was met with critical acclaim for its ease of use and practicality, as well as its apparent personality." Today, the article is a bit more honest: "Siri received mixed reviews during its "beta" release as an integrated part of iPhone 4S in October 2011."
The truth might've been less "mixed" and more "bad." In fact, as Jay Yarow wrote for Business Insider in September 2012, "Apple's voice-activated personal assistant Siri has been trashed pretty thoroughly since its arrival last year."
In another article about Siri, Yarow refers to a Fortune article about Tim Cook, which cites an employee, who said, "People are embarrassed by Siri ... Steve [Jobs] would have lost his mind over Siri."
Meanwhile, writing for The New York Times, tech writer, Nick Bilton, famously ended his romance with Siri, citing her inability to answer questions--a supposed core function. In his article Bilton embraced Google's Voice Search, which was available on Android phones, and according to Bilton, was "a much better listener."
Like Siri at the time, Google Voice was in an "upstart" phase--and Amazon's now-famous Alexa was still a few years from a release date.
Since 2012, Siri voice-based technologies have become more intuitive, easier to use, and more helpful. In 2015, The Times called the latest iPhone software update (iOS 9), which included a hands-free Siri, "An Omen of the Future," and Farhad Manjoo argued that Siri was poised to become a crucial part of our everyday lives:
"The new Siri is paving the way to what you might call 'ambient computing' — a future in which robotic assistants are always on hand to answer questions, take notes, take orders or otherwise function as auxiliary brains to whom you might offload many of your chores."
To facilitate this form of "assistance," the new Siri was able to respond to commands voiced from several feet away. The Times noted that this "hands free" technology was not new, yet with Siri, Apple improved its potential resourcefulness:
"In iOS 9...Siri also has more powers to connect to deeper parts of your phone. It can control devices compatible with Apple’s home-automation system, called HomeKit — you can tell it to turn down the lights, for example. Siri also controls Apple Music, the company’s new streaming service. In the car, say, 'Hey, Siri, play Dylan,' and up comes 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'."
Of course, since then, Amazon's Alexa has dominated the voice-based marketplace, and digital home assistants are now the rage--effectively leaving Siri in the dust.
As Brian Deagon reported for Investors.com, Amazon's Alexa and Google's home assistant, Google Home, are in a "race for dominance" in this hot consumer category:
"Both devices are voice-activated speaker systems connected to the internet that can answer a multitude of questions, play music on request, read books, tell jokes, provide weather and traffic information, and much more."
Why have digital home assistants succeeded even as the first wave of phone-based assistants seemingly failed?
Perhaps it's context. Business Insider cited a study last year that found most people "feel uncomfortable talking to their tech in public."
Voice Search in 2018
The emergence of voice-based technology has been predicted for years (first, of course, in science fiction), and recently in a major algorithm update from Google, which was made, in part, to accommodate the increase in voice-based searches, which tend to be longer and more complex.
This new algorithm was a nod to the ubiquity of mobile phones. Today, most of the worldwide online experience is conducted on mobile devices, a fact we've covered exhaustively in the past.
Still, some SEOs dispute the value of optimizing for voice-based search specifically. Earlier this year, Bryson Meunier, writing for Search Engine Land, argued "the opportunity for marketers is relatively low."
In general, we agree with Bryson's assessment. As we noted above, you don't need to reinvent the wheel to optimize for voice. However, the prevalence of voice-based technology only emphasizes the changes SEOs have witnessed since at least 2013, when Google introduced the Hummingbird algorithm.
As the experience of search changes, at home and on the streets, the nature of search--how and why--changes. Good SEOs maintain pace with the changes, adapting websites as needed to ensure optimum rankings.
Perhaps the most significant change has been the recent emphasis on long-tail keywords. Single word keywords have become less relevant as searchers have learned to voice longer, more complex demands.
Again, from The Times:
"A host of start-ups are entering the game, too. One, called SoundHound, offers a taste of the possibilities of talking to machines: Rather than going through several sites to make a hotel reservation, you can ask, 'Find me a three- or four-star hotel in New York next Friday for less than $300,' and off it goes."
Long-Tail Keywords: The New Search Paradigm
So how do you optimize for voice search in 2018? Study the voice-based questions that make your website relevant. Anticipate your customer's questions. Then, to create new content, start with a question in mind--and answer that question precisely.
The sort of queries we're referring to here are "long tail keywords."
Although short keywords drive traffic to your site, long-tail queries account for more total impressions. Simply put, with the emergence of voice-based technology, people are using long-tail keywords more often.
Since long-tail searches are so specific, you may have a harder time discovering the best long-tail keywords for your content. But long-tail keywords must be a part of your optimization campaign:
The value of Backlinko's analysis is the minutiae, which is best suited for SEOs. The details may help guide SEOs evolving efforts to optimize for today's information-hungry consumers, who search on a variety of platforms, including desktop, mobile, and voice assistants.
How do you optimize for each platform? And what platform is most important for your site?
Website owners pay SEOs to answer these questions. In turn, SEOs equip themselves with information to optimize each site in a unique way. A good strategy for one site may not be good for another.
In most cases, though, similar optimization techniques work for each platform. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to optimize for desktop and mobile and voice. And again, recognizing the differences that do exist, say between desktop and mobile page speed, and optimizing for each, is the work of SEOs.
Website owners can dispense with the minutiae. However, an engaged website owner should understand the nuances of search. The details of Backlinko's analysis may be for SEOs, for example, but a website owner who understands the key takeaways of voice search will be better equipped to guide digital marketing efforts.
Voice Technology: A Brief History
Siri was met with contempt when she was introduced to the iPhone, in 2011. As late as last April (2017), the Wikipedia article on Siri falsely claimed without any attributions, "Siri was met with critical acclaim for its ease of use and practicality, as well as its apparent personality." Today, the article is a bit more honest: "Siri received mixed reviews during its "beta" release as an integrated part of iPhone 4S in October 2011."
The truth might've been less "mixed" and more "bad." In fact, as Jay Yarow wrote for Business Insider in September 2012, "Apple's voice-activated personal assistant Siri has been trashed pretty thoroughly since its arrival last year."
In another article about Siri, Yarow refers to a Fortune article about Tim Cook, which cites an employee, who said, "People are embarrassed by Siri ... Steve [Jobs] would have lost his mind over Siri."
Meanwhile, writing for The New York Times, tech writer, Nick Bilton, famously ended his romance with Siri, citing her inability to answer questions--a supposed core function. In his article Bilton embraced Google's Voice Search, which was available on Android phones, and according to Bilton, was "a much better listener."
Like Siri at the time, Google Voice was in an "upstart" phase--and Amazon's now-famous Alexa was still a few years from a release date.
Since 2012, Siri voice-based technologies have become more intuitive, easier to use, and more helpful. In 2015, The Times called the latest iPhone software update (iOS 9), which included a hands-free Siri, "An Omen of the Future," and Farhad Manjoo argued that Siri was poised to become a crucial part of our everyday lives:
"The new Siri is paving the way to what you might call 'ambient computing' — a future in which robotic assistants are always on hand to answer questions, take notes, take orders or otherwise function as auxiliary brains to whom you might offload many of your chores."
To facilitate this form of "assistance," the new Siri was able to respond to commands voiced from several feet away. The Times noted that this "hands free" technology was not new, yet with Siri, Apple improved its potential resourcefulness:
"In iOS 9...Siri also has more powers to connect to deeper parts of your phone. It can control devices compatible with Apple’s home-automation system, called HomeKit — you can tell it to turn down the lights, for example. Siri also controls Apple Music, the company’s new streaming service. In the car, say, 'Hey, Siri, play Dylan,' and up comes 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'."
 |
| The times they are a-changing -Bob Dylan |
As Brian Deagon reported for Investors.com, Amazon's Alexa and Google's home assistant, Google Home, are in a "race for dominance" in this hot consumer category:
"Both devices are voice-activated speaker systems connected to the internet that can answer a multitude of questions, play music on request, read books, tell jokes, provide weather and traffic information, and much more."
Why have digital home assistants succeeded even as the first wave of phone-based assistants seemingly failed?
Perhaps it's context. Business Insider cited a study last year that found most people "feel uncomfortable talking to their tech in public."
Voice Search in 2018
The emergence of voice-based technology has been predicted for years (first, of course, in science fiction), and recently in a major algorithm update from Google, which was made, in part, to accommodate the increase in voice-based searches, which tend to be longer and more complex.
This new algorithm was a nod to the ubiquity of mobile phones. Today, most of the worldwide online experience is conducted on mobile devices, a fact we've covered exhaustively in the past.
Still, some SEOs dispute the value of optimizing for voice-based search specifically. Earlier this year, Bryson Meunier, writing for Search Engine Land, argued "the opportunity for marketers is relatively low."
In general, we agree with Bryson's assessment. As we noted above, you don't need to reinvent the wheel to optimize for voice. However, the prevalence of voice-based technology only emphasizes the changes SEOs have witnessed since at least 2013, when Google introduced the Hummingbird algorithm.
As the experience of search changes, at home and on the streets, the nature of search--how and why--changes. Good SEOs maintain pace with the changes, adapting websites as needed to ensure optimum rankings.
Perhaps the most significant change has been the recent emphasis on long-tail keywords. Single word keywords have become less relevant as searchers have learned to voice longer, more complex demands.
Again, from The Times:
"A host of start-ups are entering the game, too. One, called SoundHound, offers a taste of the possibilities of talking to machines: Rather than going through several sites to make a hotel reservation, you can ask, 'Find me a three- or four-star hotel in New York next Friday for less than $300,' and off it goes."
Long-Tail Keywords: The New Search Paradigm
So how do you optimize for voice search in 2018? Study the voice-based questions that make your website relevant. Anticipate your customer's questions. Then, to create new content, start with a question in mind--and answer that question precisely.
The sort of queries we're referring to here are "long tail keywords."
Although short keywords drive traffic to your site, long-tail queries account for more total impressions. Simply put, with the emergence of voice-based technology, people are using long-tail keywords more often.
Since long-tail searches are so specific, you may have a harder time discovering the best long-tail keywords for your content. But long-tail keywords must be a part of your optimization campaign:
- Ad campaigns for long-tail keywords have less competition so they cost less.
- Long-tail keywords increase conversion rates by attracting real customers to your precise product or service.
- Long-tail keywords are a by-product of good content; if you write excellent content, you will not have a hard time discovering the best long-tail keywords; your content will do the work for you.
Long-tail keywords answer browser's specific questions--the type often asked of digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Home.
So ask yourself: What is my ideal customer looking for? Or: What question does my product or service answer?
This information on long-tail keywords is adapted from our keyword post, which discusses both short and long-tail keywords.
Need SEO Help in 2018? Call Stepman's SEO!
To navigate the new rules of SEO, you might need to hire an SEO specialist like Stepman's SEO. If you sell a high-quality product that deserves customers, you also deserve a well-optimized mobile website.
Do not let the changing search landscape compromise your sales. Now, more than ever, you need the astute wisdom of a professional search engine optimization professional.
Stepman's SEO is now offering a free mobile website audit. Contact Stepman's SEO today to learn how you can improve your website's mobile performance: 215-900-9398.
So ask yourself: What is my ideal customer looking for? Or: What question does my product or service answer?
This information on long-tail keywords is adapted from our keyword post, which discusses both short and long-tail keywords.
Need SEO Help in 2018? Call Stepman's SEO!
To navigate the new rules of SEO, you might need to hire an SEO specialist like Stepman's SEO. If you sell a high-quality product that deserves customers, you also deserve a well-optimized mobile website.
Do not let the changing search landscape compromise your sales. Now, more than ever, you need the astute wisdom of a professional search engine optimization professional.
Stepman's SEO is now offering a free mobile website audit. Contact Stepman's SEO today to learn how you can improve your website's mobile performance: 215-900-9398.
Voice Search in 2018: What You Need to Know
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Reviewed by penulis
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