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Voice Search Optimisation – Keep it Simple

 

If you haven’t considered voice search yet it’s about time to get on board. Voice search continues to grow and businesses looking to stay on top need to be working voice search into their SEO. The problem is, Google currently isn’t quite sure on how optimising for voice search is going to work – or at least they’re not telling us what they have planned. That doesn’t mean it’s time to be complacent. Here’s what we do know and a great tip for those forward-thinking SMEs that are not prepared to be left behind.

Who Uses Voice Search?

Loads of people are already commonly using their voice to conduct searches, whether they’re using Siri, Google Home, Alexa or another tool. People in our offices are using voice search daily, it’s a thing, it’s not going away. However, for more detailed research we turned to Search Engine Land who shared some interesting research performed by Stone Temple Consulting. The survey revealed what we already know, that people are becoming far more comfortable using voice search. Other findings were:

  • The largest group of people using voice search are aged between 35-44
  • The people who feel the most comfortable using voice search are aged between 25-34
  • The most frequent users of voice search earn more than $50,000 per year

Ranking for Voice Search

More and more homes are introducing virtual assistants and the market along with the tech continues to evolve at a fast pace. This makes it hard to predict how users will be using voice search. Therefore, it’s vital for businesses to pay attention and watch the developments closely.  Research has been performed on the voice search ranking factors. One study by Greg Sterling was based on 10,000 Google Home users and the findings were interesting:

  • The replies provided by Google Home were on average 29 words in length
  • The average writing level was grade nine reading
  • Greg Sterling expects Google to be able to deliver the search results at the same reading level as the user in the future. The reading level will be estimated using the implied education of the question being asked
  • The pages that Google used to deliver the results were on average 2,312 words in length.

Optimising for Voice Search

What you can take away from the voice search ranking research is that Google wants to provide short and simple answers but from authoritative pages. Start working in content that fits in with these demands and ensure that all pages have voice search in mind when they’re being created.  Focus on creating strong content that provides simple and concise answers. Work on building a strong domain authority and keep all content into small segments that are easy to read and understand.