"OK GOOGLE, WHERE CAN I GET MY WEBSITE DESIGN IN REMOTE?" I gladly set aside my Nijmegen accent for Google dear. In pure ABN, I address the search engine as if there is prize money to be won. ¨I have found some web design places in Remote,¨ is her answer. I get three options, Monkey Vision at the top, with map and direct call option. My girl Google never disappoints.
Ik voice search steeds meer en ben niet de enige: steeds meer mensen gebruiken spraakgestuurde zoekopdrachten om snel en gemakkelijk te zoeken in de zoekmachine. Er wordt al jaren voorspeld dat het gebruik op zal lopen, en dat klopt! In 2016 gebruikte nog 20% van de mensen het, in 2018 40% en er wordt verwacht dat 50% van de zoekopdrachten in 2020 al stemgestuurd zullen zijn. Dit is op basis van Amerikaanse cijfers, maar kunnen zeker een voorbode zijn op de Nederlandse markt. Voice Search zal niet alleen van invloed zijn op onze articulatie, maar ook op de SEO van jouw website. Lees in deze blog: is jouw website voice search ready?
Have you had your website designed by Monkey Vision? We are up to date with the latest SEO guidelines and apply them for in your website. Do you have questions about this or any other question related to web design? Please feel free to contact us!
Why are your website visitors using voice search?
Voice search provides an instant ready answer to your question. Without too much effort, your questions are answered and you are provided with ultimate user convenience. Whereas just a few years ago this was seen by many as just a funny gadget, in recent years it has become increasingly common. In the process, voice assistants are now being used for more than question-and-answer: Siri and Google Assistant set your alarm clock and open your apps without you having to lift a finger. Since smart speakers for the home were introduced, voice search has become increasingly common. In America, 32% of homes already have a smart speaker. The United States is still a long way from this, but since Dutch-language voice search has been introduced, it is becoming more and more likely that it will grow here as well.
Voice search: who exactly is using it?
Your website visitors are using it. So don't wait too long to optimize your website and web design. What exactly are the numbers? Several years ago, Google already made the prediction that voice search would become the fastest-growing search method. As recently as 2016, 20 percent of mobile searches in Google were voice searches and now, in 2019, this covers in already nearly 50 percent. This increase is also the direct effect of the growing number of mobile searches.
Impact of Voice Search on SEO
How does Voice Search affect search queries and results? We give you an indication:
Search language is becoming more natural 1.
What we search is changing, as we relay search queries more naturally. Searches in full sentences will cause them to be longer than usual and more often have a question form. As a result, searches will more often begin with who, what, how, when and where. Suppose you are looking for a hairdresser in Remote. Normally you would type in ¨Kapper Remote¨, but now you ask: ¨Ok Google, what is the best hairdresser in Remote?¨. Local search terms, as in the example, are also increasing and becoming more common due to the convenience of Voice Search.
Searches are more Google-dependent 2.
As people start searching in a different language, searches are automatically affected. These are longer, in spoken language and even more dependent on Google than typed searches.
Top 5 more important than page 1 3.
Why are these searches even more dependent on Google? With Voice Search, Google often provides 1 answer, while a typed search displays a whole page of options. Google removes this answer from the top 5 search results, which also makes the first page in Google less important and the top 5 even more important.
Semantic Search even more important 4.
These changes have an automatic effect on SEO. Semantic Search was already important for your SEO, but voice search makes it even more important. Through Semantic Search, you help Google interpret and understand your content. We do this for example through structured data, which allows Google's algorithm to read your website properly.
Wondering if your website's structured data is in order or want a website design with a good foundation in structured data? Monkey Vision makes your web design in order.
The above has mostly to do with context and web design, but of course the increased importance of Semantic Search also affects your content. Because of the longer queries in spoken language, your content must be optimized for this. This means a reduced focus on exact keywords and an increased use of long-tail. Content will automatically be written more naturally and there will be more focus on answering questions and getting positions in featured snippets.
Also read the SEO tips from colleague Bas!
Optimize your website for (local) searches and long-tail search terms
The conclusion: it is still important to optimize for local search, as the smart speaker is used to quickly and efficiently get answers to (location-based) questions. Make sure it is clear where your business is located (Google My Business) and where your products or services are provided.
In addition, you need to think about how people search for your product or service. What exactly are they saying? What answer do they expect? Can they phrase it in different ways as well? Make sure your page directly answers the formulated question. An excellent example of this is a comprehensive FAQ page that answers questions directly.
Read more about local SEO in our blog ¨How do you deploy local SEO effectively?¨
To rank well in search results, it's also important to check your featured snippets. Do they clearly answer a potential question? Ultimately, the trick is to create a snippet that gives a direct answer, but also invites people to click through to your page for more information.
In my opinion, I am not voice search-ready. Now what?
No disaster! Not yet. The influence of Voice Search is not mega drastic as far as we are concerned: the influence is actually in sync with recent SEO guidelines. As an up-to-date web agency, as far as we are concerned, you should already know this. These guidelines have everything to do with a more semantic approach, natural language, local and long-tail search terms and less focus on exact search terms.
If your website was designed by a web agency they should be aware of this. Would you like to have your website checked for SEO by a web agency with expertise? Or would you like to have a website design from scratch based on the latest SEO guidelines? Then feel free to come talk to us about your new web design!
