Lots of people now search by voice instead of typing keywords into a search bar. Saying: ‘OK Google, what’s the nearest coffee shop?’ or, ‘Hey Siri, find me a recipe for vegan lasagna’ is just easier sometimes.
That’s why voice search is the future of online interaction. Millions of people use it daily for everything from finding information to shopping to controlling their smart homes.
At WPBeginner, we have extensive experience optimizing websites for search engines. It has helped us sell our digital products and services for over a decade. So, we know how important it is to stay on top of the latest SEO strategies.
To put it simply, if your WordPress site isn’t optimized for voice search, then you are missing out on tons of valuable traffic.
In this article, we’re going to dive deeper into why voice search SEO is so important and how to optimize your WordPress site to capture those voice-powered searches.
Why Is Voice Search Important?
Voice search is quickly becoming the standard way people find information online. Unless your website is optimized for voice search, then it will become less relevant, and you will miss out on valuable search traffic.
This is because it is so convenient to simply speak to a smart assistant on your phone or devices around your home. Studies show that 62% of adult Americans are now using voice assistants. Besides that, 27% of global internet users are using voice search on mobile.
The three most popular voice search apps worldwide are Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.
Many people use voice search to get an instant answer to their questions, such as directions to a store or learning when it closes. They may be driving and unable to look at a screen and expect their virtual assistant to speak the answer to them right away without needing to visit a website.
At other times, the user may want to spend time exploring the search results and doing their own research by visiting websites. For instance, they may be looking for the best price on a product, want to learn the best way to repair their vehicle or do some DIY project around the home.
Recognizing that this is a growth area, many WordPress website owners are adding voice search to their websites. You can learn how to do this step-by-step in our guide on how to add voice search in WordPress.
However, the most important thing is to do voice search SEO and make sure you are not missing out on this important traffic source. Search engine ranking is crucial because almost 68% of clicks from voice searches come from the first 5 results on the search results page.
Now, let’s take a look at how to optimize your WordPress blog for voice search. Here are the different topics we will cover. You can use the links to jump to the section that you are most interested in:
That said, you’ll likely want to try out as many voice search SEO strategies as possible.
1. Target Conversational Keywords
When people use voice search, they speak in normal everyday English. They don’t use the same keywords as they would type into Google’s search bar.
Instead of typing ‘best pizza in Los Angeles,’ they might ask, ‘OK Google, what’s the best pizza in Los Angeles?’
So, if you want your content to be optimized for these voice searches, you will need to use the same conversational, everyday English. In other words, you should write like you speak.
In our experience, the best way to target conversational keywords is to focus on long-tail keywords. These are longer and more specific queries users search for and are often in the form of questions.
Natural language queries like these provide insights into user intent. So, rather than just trying to match exact keywords, make sure you understand and address this intent in your content.
There are many long-tail keyword generators you can use to uncover these longer phrases.
For example, you can use our own WPBeginner Keyword Generator Tool. You simply type in a keyword and then click the ‘Analyze’ button.
The tool will suggest hundreds of keywords you can use in your content.
You can scroll down to the ‘Questions’ section to discover the questions users are asking about your keywords. You should try to answer those questions directly in your content.
Another useful tool for discovering long-tail keywords is LowFruits.
When you type a main keyword in the Lowfruits KWFinder tool, thousands of long-tail keywords will be generated. You can click on the ‘Questions’ tab to view only questions.
LowFruits can then analyze these keywords to show you their search volume (the ‘Vol’ column), which lets you know which keywords are likely to send you the most traffic.
It will also give each keyword a difficulty score (‘SD’), which shows how hard it will be to outrank your competitors on that keyword.
You should prioritize the keywords with high volume and low difficulty.
2. Use Schema Markup
We mentioned earlier that many people use voice search when they can’t look at a screen, such as when they are driving. They need their virtual assistant to give them spoken answers, which may include turn-by-turn directions to your store or the time it closes.
This can only happen if Google and other search engines can understand the content of your website. To do that, they recognize and use structured data in the form of schema markup.
Schema markup is a special type of HTML code added to your WordPress website behind the scenes. It helps search engines understand different types of content, such as blog posts, products, recipes, events, and more.
For instance, it allows search engines to recognize specific facts such as recipe ingredients, product specifications, and pricing. Schema markup can also make things like your store office hours or professional contact details more easily searchable.
You can give virtual assistants the information they need to answer questions by simply following our guide on how to add schema markup in WordPress and WooCommerce.
For example, you can use All in One SEO to easily add schema markup for FAQ sections that address questions commonly asked in your industry.
The structured data will make it easy for search engines and virtual assistants to feature your content in voice search results.
If you decide to use this plugin to easily create schema markup, you might also want to take a look at our complete guide on how to set up All In One SEO.
3. Optimize for Local SEO
If you have a local business, then lots of users are trying to find you using voice search. As many as 76% of voice searches are people looking for local products and services.
They may be looking for directions to your store while driving or asking about the closest coffee shop when making plans with friends.
So, while you are adding schema markup to your site, make sure you add markup for your business address, contact details, opening hours, and other important business information.
You can make it easy for virtual assistants to answer these questions and direct more customers to your business by correctly and consistently adding local schema to your website.
Your store will also become more prominent on standard Google searches.
We have written a detailed local SEO guide to help you grow your traffic from local searches.
Besides showing you how to add local schema, this guide also covers how to improve local visibility by creating a Google Business Profile, adding Google Maps, getting listed in local business directories, and showing positive customer reviews.
4. Optimize for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are the highlighted results shown at the top of a Google search results page.
For example, when you search for a recipe, Google will often place the best results at the top of the page in a featured snippet.
Since these snippets are shown above the normal search results, they can direct a lot more traffic to your site.
Better still, with voice search, a virtual assistant will often just read the featured snippet to the user. That’s a big reason why 40% of voice search results include featured snippets.
We can’t provide a guaranteed way to get a featured snippet because they are chosen by Google. However, using schema markup on your website will help, and there are a few things you can do to increase your chances significantly.
For more information, check out our guide on how to get a Google featured snippet with your WordPress site.
5. Improve Your Website’s Technical SEO
Lastly, you should check that there are not any technical reasons why Google would penalize your rankings. You may have created the best voice-search-optimized content out there, but if it does not appear near the top of the search results, then all your efforts are wasted.
We created a proven technical SEO checklist to help you identify technical problems that prevent you from receiving higher rankings. It will check for common issues such as:
Fixing errors like these will remove issues that may result in poor search engine rankings.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Voice Search
Here are some brief answers to frequently asked questions about optimizing for voice search.
Isn’t voice search just for finding restaurants and directions?
No, not anymore. People now use voice search for everything from complex questions about how to fix a leaky faucet to shopping and controlling their smart homes. Basically, people may decide to use voice search for anything they want to find online.
Do I really need to optimize for voice search separately? Isn’t it the same as regular SEO?
They’re related, but voice search is a little different because people speak differently than they type. They use longer phrases, more natural language, and lots of questions. So, you need to optimize for how people speak.
What’s the most important thing I can do to optimize my site for voice search?
You need to think like your audience and imagine how they might speak their search query. What words would they use? What questions would they ask? Then, make sure your content includes those questions and answers them clearly and concisely.
Do keywords matter for voice search?
Yes, but you need to focus on ‘long-tail keywords’. These are longer, more specific phrases people use in conversation. For example, think ‘best Italian restaurant near me open now’ instead of just ‘Italian restaurant’.
I’m not a tech expert. Is optimizing for voice search complicated?
It’s easier than you think. The most important points are to write naturally, optimize for mobile, and use one of the best SEO tools or plugins to guide you.
How will I know if my voice search optimization is working?
Keep an eye on your website traffic. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track which keywords people are using to find you, including voice searches, and how they engage with your content.
We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to optimize your WordPress website for voice search. You may also want to see our expert pick on the best schema markup plugins for WordPress or our ultimate guide to WordPress SEO.
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