What’s Important When it Comes to Voice Search

With the advancement in virtual assistant technology, voice search has taken centre stage for digital marketers. It’s the hot topic in SEO and its potential hasn’t been fully discovered. People increasingly use voice search to find what they need via smartphones and Google Home. It’s a convenient, hands-free way to search, and it changes the search framework for marketers.

Companies now can optimize their websites for voice search as well. There are slight differences from traditional SEO techniques. Understanding the important ranking factors for voice search will help ensure that your site remains competitive and is discoverable by more potential customers.

Readability Matters

When it comes to any type of search engine optimization, pages that have a high readability score will rank better. This is true for voice search as well. Search engines check websites against the search query of users, which is a parsed natural speech pattern. Hence, voice search relies on easy to understand answers. This is true across different types of devices. Smartphones deliver information in even simpler format since users can both hear and read the results.

Fast Load Times Rank Higher

Consequently, voice search heavily relies on page speed and quick page loading times. A search by voice tends to load in about half the time of a webpage search. Therefore, if you want your page to be featured for voice search queries, it has to have an optimized load speed. This is also true for voice speaker devices like Google Home or Alexa.

Pay Attention to Word Count

Studies show that, on average, the optimal word count of a voice search result is around 40 words. This is true for different types of devices that allow voice search queries. Smartphones may have slightly higher counts since text can also be read, along with the provided audio. A general rule for voice search is that it’s best to provide concise and clear answers in a short format at the start of your page or article.

High Search Rankings

Keep in mind that voice search remains consistent with traditional search engine placement. Voice search results will primarily come from the first page of search results. Expect that most of delivered voice search results will be taken from the first page of search engine results. Therefore, all your SEO efforts to rank your website need to be maintained. Strive for the top four positions within search engine rankings in order to get traffic from voice search queries. Once you establish your website among the top results, you can be sure there will be a lot of voice search traffic coming in.