Technology has come a long way in recent years, with advances being made almost daily. It is evolving faster than ever, from simple text-based commands to complex artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Voice search technology is one of the most recent advances that have become popular in recent years. Which is an essential part of any successful SEO strategy.

Now people rely on AI-powered digital assistants to help them with their online activities. From ordering groceries to finding news articles, people are turning away from typing a query into voice search.

In 2022, 40.2% of the United States population have used voice search features for their online activities.

This growing trend presents opportunities for businesses. Understanding audio-specific content optimization is key if you want to get more traffic. Read on to learn what is voice search optimization and why it’s important.

What Is Voice Search?

Voice search is a technology that allows users to interact with digital devices such as smartphones, smart speakers, and virtual assistants by speaking specific commands or queries. This technology utilizes natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to enable devices to recognize and interpret speech to provide an appropriate response.

This technology has revolutionized how people access digital services by eliminating complex and unintuitive browser navigation workflows, allowing people to more readily find what they are looking for without all the hassle.

How Does Voice Search Work?

Voice search works through the automatic speech recognition system (ASR) to transform vocal utterances into words and phrases which are then used to provide answers or information. It then carries out a query based on the terms that are provided. It can be used to find entertaining content, answer questions, simplify daily tasks, and more.

It’s not surprising that there has been a massive shift in popularity towards audio-powered virtual assistants like Alexa, allowing us to interact with our devices naturally. With audio queries, we’re no longer limited to typing or swiping on smartphones but instead get an instantaneous response in the form of spoken information within seconds.

Right now the most advanced ASR systems have an accuracy of about 95% and can be used for various applications such as speech-based assistant queries, audio translation, voice shopping, and more. The speech recognition technology was initially developed by IBM but now belongs to Google. If we conclude, the audio-specific content queries work in four simple steps:

• Speech Recognition: It recognizes your words from the query and converts them into text.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): To accurately interpret the meaning of your query and understand what you are asking for.
• Search Engine Algorithm: Once it understands your question, it looks for relevant information in its database to find an answer.
• Voice Response: Finally, it will respond with an audio response that contains the information you were looking for.

Millions of people are already using speech-based technologies and their endless applications. Also, with the advancement of AI and machine learning, speech-based query optimization is expected to become even more powerful in the near future.

What Is Voice Search Optimization?

Voice search optimization is the process of ensuring that your pages are optimized to appear in audio-specific content results. The goal of audio-based optimization is to address common verbal queries in your content so that audio-specific content technologies and virtual assistants present your page to users in speech-based results.

Just like traditional search engine optimization, audio content optimization requires you to optimize the content on your website for keywords and phrases that people are likely to use when speaking to their mobile devices.

It also means that you must ensure your content is easy and quick to parse, as audio-specific content queries tend to be more conversational and natural than typed ones.

Voice Search Optimization Can Be Divided into Two Categories:

• Content Optimization: This involves optimizing your content so that it is more likely to appear as a result of audio queries. It includes using keywords and phrases that are likely to be used in verbal queries, improving the speed of your website, and using natural language when writing content.

• Structured Data Optimization: Structured data is a way to tag your content so it can be easily indexed and understood by search engine algorithms. It helps web crawlers better recognize the type of information on your page and provides them with more context about what people are looking for when using speech commands.

How Is Voice Search SEO Different from Traditional Search?‌

There’s a huge difference between writing and speaking your question or search query. A few more factors make speech-based SEO different from traditional SEO:

Voice Search Queries Are Usually Longer

Yup, the voice queries are almost always longer than typed ones. While we enter the more specific keywords when typing in a query, speech-based queries are more natural and conversational.

Voice Searches Are Quick

Today Gen-Z is all about getting information quickly. When they use audio queries, they expect to get an answer immediately. It’s quicker than typing in a query and waiting for the results to load.

What Keywords Should You Use for Voice Search?‌

Knowing what keywords to use when optimizing your online presence for audio-specific content is essential. When building your keyword strategy consider using the following:

• Question keywords: What, Why, How, When, Who, Where
• Long-tail keywords: These are more specific and can be used to target a narrow set of queries
• Location-based keywords: Make sure you include keywords related to your location as people often use speech-based queries when looking for something nearby
• Conversational phrases: Try to incorporate natural language into your content so that it is easier for web crawlers to understand the context of your page

These keywords are more likely to be used in audio-specific content queries and can help you get more visibility in the SERPs. Multiple SEO tools like Answer The Public, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you find the right keywords for your content.

Why Is Voice Search Optimization Important For Your SEO Strategy?

Voice search optimization is a key element of any successful online marketing strategy as it allows you to quickly and easily reach users looking for information.

It ensures that your content ranks in audio-specific content results, which can lead to more traffic and conversions for your business.

Additionally, it helps you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in SEO and can differentiate your business from competitors who are not taking advantage of audio-specific content-based optimization.

What Are Some Popular Voice Search Devices and Search Engines?

Right now every device we use can perform audio queries. Because the technology is becoming so popular. But there are some popular audio-based devices and query engines that are leading the way:

• Amazon Alexa: Amazon’s voice-activated assistant has been around since 2014 and is becoming increasingly popular due to its versatile capabilities. It uses Bing as the default query engine for finding answers.
• Google Assistant: Google’s AI-powered personal assistant is integrated into all its services, including queries. It uses Google’s search engine to provide users with accurate answers.
• Apple Siri: Apple’s audio-activated assistant is integrated into all its devices and uses Bing as the default query engine for finding answers.
• Microsoft Cortana: Microsoft’s virtual assistant can be used on computers, tablets, and phones and uses Bing as the default query engine.

What Kind of Businesses Can Benefit from Voice Search?

According to research by BrightLocal the most common industries that can benefit from audio-based content optimization are:

• Cafes/Restaurants
• Groceries Stores
• Places with a takeaway option
• Clothing Stores
• Hotels/Accommodation
• Medical Practices

These businesses will likely receive organic traffic using audio-specific content results as they can quickly find the information they need. Most of these are local businesses and will benefit from including location-based keywords.

Wrapping Up

Voice search is increasing as people become more comfortable speaking into their devices rather than typing out queries or using a mouse or keyboard.

By optimizing your content for both traditional text-based and speech-based queries, you will have greater visibility online and be able to reach more customers than ever before.

So don’t wait and start exploring how you can leverage the power of audio-specific content optimization today.