Optimizing for voice search can help your business show up in voice search results. Using the proper keywords and doing local SEO can help with this. Making your website load faster and work well on mobile is also important. With how many people are using voice search, preparing for “near me” voice searches can help you reach more customers this year. 

People are using their devices to make voice searches more than ever. People use voice search to find local businesses. If your website isn’t optimized for voice search, you’re missing out on traffic and potential customers. Voice search grows in popularity every year, with millions of users. Highstreet Marketing can help your business be recommended in voice search queries.

What Does Optimization for Voice Search Mean? 

Voice search is when a person asks their phone a question out loud instead of typing in a query. The voice assistant they use (Google, Siri, Alexa, etc.) uses search engines to find an answer. When people talk to their device, they word things differently than when they type. Optimizing your website for voice search means tailoring your content so it appears in voice search results. 

Over 150 million people in America alone use voice assistants to make searches. This is about 1 in 5 of internet users. However, over half of people have used voice search at some point to find information about businesses. If someone is looking for a service or product near them, they may turn to voice search to find it. Maybe they’re driving and can’t touch their phone. It’s important for your company to be suggested as a search result for these people actively looking for a business. 

Voice searches yield accurate results over 90% of the time, and users trust these results. Appearing in voice search results is a big opportunity for small, local businesses. Voice search only reads out one answer, and you should strive to be in that top spot. Different voice assistants use different search engines, which means that you should optimize your site for multiple search engines, not just Google. 

Strategies to Prepare for “Near-Me” Voice Searches

1. Keywords

This is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to voice search optimization. There are two main types of keywords to target for voice searches. 

• Conversational Keywords

When people speak out loud, they use more natural language. They’re more likely to phrase their queries as questions or conversations. These keywords should be carefully researched so that they are relevant and mirror real-life speech patterns. Think about things that people would ask in real life. Conversational can also mean more complex queries. 

• Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords, or rather phrases, are five or more words long. They begin with one of the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why, or how). They will also usually include a location modifier, such as “near me” or a particular city. Many long-tail keywords are also conversational. 

Highstreet Marketing can help you find effective keywords that will bring in voice searchers. Adding FAQs targeting these keywords to your website can help you rank in voice search results. Focusing on speakable schema markup can also boost rankings. 

2. Local Search Engine Optimization

Most voice searches have local intent, which means users are looking for a particular service or type of establishment nearby. Prioritizing local SEO is crucial. Claiming and verifying your Google Business Profile is an essential first step. Provide as much accurate information as possible. Encourage customers to leave reviews- positive reviews are important for local rankings. 

Put location-specific keywords on your website. You should also make dedicated webpages for all the locations you serve. Highstreet Marketing can help you determine which cities and regions you should target to drive traffic and bring in customers. We can help build strong foundational local pages on your website. Local SEO will help your business prepare for “near me” voice searches. 

 3. Technical Optimization

Because Google and other search engines prioritize user experience, they want to promote websites that have fast loading times. Pages that appear as answers to voice searches load over 50% faster than the average website. If your website is slow, it won’t show up in voice searches. Some ways to improve page speed include optimizing images, enabling browser caching, minifying code, and reducing redirects. 

Optimizing your site for mobile devices is also important. Over half of voice searches happen using phones. Some ways to optimize your website for mobile include making buttons and links easy to see and click on, using shorter paragraphs, and having different versions of the site for different screen sizes. Use clear fonts and make sure your site is easily navigable

Make Your Website SEO-Ready

Many people have shifted from typing up searches to using voice search. To draw in this audience and stay visible in search results, it’s important to prepare your website for voice searches. Highstreet Marketing stays up to date with SEO trends so that we can best help our clients.

Reach out to us so that we can improve your website and get it to rank in voice searches.