{"id":117129,"date":"2019-01-11T14:30:45","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T14:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=117129"},"modified":"2020-03-16T17:31:33","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T17:31:33","slug":"voice-search-optimization-guide-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/01\/11\/voice-search-optimization-guide-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Voice search optimization guide: Six steps for 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever tried to search for some data online when you were multitasking and couldn\u2019t type the text? It would be quite challenging without the opportunity to conduct voice search.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>PWC<\/span><\/a> report, 71% of respondents would rather use their voice<\/a> assistant to search for something than physically typing their queries.<\/span><\/p>\n

And what\u2019s most important is that the differences between spoken and typed queries may cause different SERP results. Which in turn means that your competitors\u2019 voice search<\/a> optimized websites have better chances of engaging your potential customers or subscribers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Want your website rank as high for voice queries as for the typed ones? This article will give you the six key steps to undertake for 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"guide<\/p>\n

Voice search evolution<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Remember when voice search<\/a> required calling a phone number from your mobile device and saying your search query? <\/span><\/p>\n

That was what voice search<\/a> looked like in its infancy (to be more precise, in 2010). And to little surprise, few people actually used it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, voice search has improved significantly. <\/span><\/p>\n

On June 2011<\/a>, Google announced they were starting to roll out voice search on Google.com. <\/span><\/p>\n

At first, the feature could be accessed only in English. Today, we have a choice of about 60 languages<\/a> supported by Google Voice Search.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the Hummingbird<\/a> update in 2013, the concepts of typed and spoken search changed a lot. <\/span><\/p>\n

The updated algorithm emphasized natural language processing and was aimed at considering the users<\/a>\u2019 intent<\/a> and the context of the query. From then on, search questions structured in sentences have returned more relevant answers. <\/span><\/p>\n

With voice search, people typically ask a long question as they would normally speak. Hence, the Hummingbird update gave a huge push to voice search optimization.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Why do we need to optimize for voice search?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Experts differ on their opinions about voice search optimization. However, most all of them agree that it\u2019s an important part of the SEO process.<\/span><\/p>\n

We spoke with\u00a0Jenny Halasz<\/a>, speaker and consultant on SEO, and\u00a0Shane Barker<\/a>, digital marketing strategist, to get their insights on voice search optimization for 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

“While voice search is certainly the future of how we will do most searches, there\u2019s not really too much you can do to optimize for it that is different than regular SEO optimization,” Jenny says. “Because Google\u2019s goal will always be to return the best result based on the person, location, and history, it\u2019s hard to guess exactly what the right answer for a query will be.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Similarly, Shane notes: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFacilitated by the launch of voice-based digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, voice search now constitutes a significant part of all online searches. And its share is only going to rise to a level that SEO experts can\u2019t deny its importance. <\/span><\/p>\n

The question is, who will be best prepared when voice search takes up a majority share of all searches? And the answer to that is SEO experts who are devoting their time to it now. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is another side to it. Though voice searches are likely to be a really important part of SEO in the future, it is not the case now. While my advice would still be to start preparing for it, I would advise against allocating a substantial part of your budget to it.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, start learning about the nuances of SEO for voice search. That said, don’t go overboard and hire a team for it — at least not yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

The best place to start? Learn about Google\u2019s Hummingbird and other algorithm updates<\/a> and how they’ve changed the dynamics of SEO.<\/span><\/p>\n

For past articles about Hummingbird, read:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n