With the popularity of smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo on the rise (1 in 10 Australians already own a smart speaker, according to this report), people are becoming more and more comfortable with conducting search queries using the power of voice.

As voice search becomes an increasingly viable option, the businesses that win will be the ones who optimise their sites to be found via voice search queries. Here are 4 tips to help you get the edge on the competition.

Create an FAQ Page

One of the biggest differences between text searches and voice searches is that text searches typically use only a few keywords – typically 2-4 – while voice searches generally use long tail keyword phrases. For example, someone using voice search might ask “What time does the hardware store close today?”

If your site doesn’t already have a Frequently Asked Questions page, now is the time to create one. Be sure to incorporate all of the most common questions users are likely to ask via voice search; doing so will help your site bubble up to the top of voice-based search results.

Create Content Using Conversational Keywords

Conversational keywords are those long tail keywords people use when conducting voice searches. It will take a bit of work to research which phrases people use most often, but figuring this out, and then developing content that specifically incorporates those longer-form keywords, is a strategy that will pay dividends in the long term.

Update your Google My Business Listing

According to Think with Google, mobile searches for “near me” have grown by over 300% in the last two years. So why does that matter to you? Here’s the thing: location-based search results rely heavily on your Google My Business listing. If you haven’t claimed and updated that for your business yet, your chances of showing up at the top of location-based searches are greatly diminished.

Since people searching using voice frequently conduct “near me” location-based searches, updating your Google My Business listing is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do to optimise your site for voice search.

Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly

Voice search happens primarily on mobile devices, so it stands to reason that you’ll want to make sure your site is mobile-optimised. It will do you no good to make it to the top of voice-based search results, only to drive people to a site that is difficult to navigate on their phones. While doing this won’t help drive people to your site, it will go a long way toward keeping them there once they arrive!

In Conclusion

Voice search is rapidly growing in popularity, and will continue to grow at an astonishing rate as more and more voice-enabled devices enter the market. By taking steps to optimise your site for voice-based searches now, you’ll help ensure that your business keeps up with the times and continues to be served up as prominently in search results in the future as it is today. Those that ignore the trend do so at their own risk!