Tags: Voice Search, SEO strategies, Voice assistants, Statistics, Tips
Digital marketing is a process of marketing that uses the internet and digital devices to promote products and services. It has become an essential part of marketing for medical professionals. Many healthcare professionals depend on digital marketing to reach patients and build their brands.
One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is the process of optimizing a website for Google search with the goal of earning higher web traffic levels and improving the visibility of the site.
With the rise of voice search, it is more important than ever to optimise your website for SEO. In this article, we will explain what voice search is and how you can optimise your website for this growing trend.
Search Is Transforming: Here Is What You Need To Know For Optimising Your SEO
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a constantly evolving field, and keeping up with the latest trends and changes can be a challenge. However, it is essential for businesses to stay on top of these changes to ensure their websites rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Here are some key things you need to know for optimising your SEO in today's transforming search landscape:
1. Focus on user experience: Search engines are prioritizing user experience more than ever. This means that factors like page speed, mobile optimisation, and user engagement are becoming increasingly important for SEO. Make sure your website is fast, easy to navigate, and provides high-quality content that meets the needs of your audience. 2. Voice search is on the rise: With the popularity of smart speakers and virtual assistants, voice search is becoming more prevalent. This means that businesses need to optimise their content for natural language queries and long-tail keywords. Consider creating content that answers common questions or provides helpful tips and advice. 3. Featured snippets and rich snippets: Google is increasingly displaying featured snippets and rich snippets in search results, which can provide valuable exposure for businesses. To optimise for these features, focus on creating high-quality, informative content and use structured data markup to help search engines understand your content. 4. Artificial intelligence and machine learning: Search engines are using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to better understand user intent and provide more personalized search results. To optimise for these algorithms, focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that meets the needs of your audience. 5. Local search optimization: Local search is becoming increasingly important for businesses that serve a specific geographic area. To optimise for local search, make sure your website includes your location and contact information, and create listings on Google My Business and other local directories.
Overall, SEO is becoming more focused on providing value to users and creating high-quality content. By keeping up with the latest trends and best practices, businesses can ensure their websites rank well in search engine results pages and attract more traffic and leads.
What Is Voice Search?
Search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. navigate internet users to different website through online searches. Several AI- powered search tools have thus become an essential part of our daily lives enabling us to search for information on these platforms.
Studies suggest that approximately 1 billion internet users increasingly enjoy using voice assistants to find information on smart devices every week.
Voice search is a technology that enables users to speak their queries into a device, such as a cell phone or laptop, and have the device search the internet using artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Instead of having to type out each query, voice search eliminates this step, allowing users to quickly find what they need without having to type it.
How Voice Search Works
Voice search works by using natural language processing, which is a form of artificial intelligence technology. Natural language processing enables the device to interpret the user’s query and form an appropriate answer. Voice search also uses speech recognition, which is a process that enables the device to determine the user’s voice. This technology helps the device to understand the user’s query and provide the most relevant results.
Don't Be Left Behind – Voice Search Is On The Rise
Voice search is becoming increasingly popular because it is more convenient and faster than typing queries into a search engine. According to a research conducted by Global Web Index, more than 27% of smartphone owners use voice search. Furthermore, it is observed that in 2022, digital search ads spend increased to 39% globally according to Statista report. And for source of ‘Brand Discovery’, search engines continue to lead amongst internet users between 25-54 years old.
An interesting point to note here is that internet users in South Asian countries, where India is dominating in internet usage behaviours and trends, account for 18.5% of the total global internet users. This region having the second highest share of the global internet users specify that “Voice search” is highly prevalent in these nations.
India ranks the topmost in global rankings followed by China and USA respectively in the use of voice assistants to find information through voice search. Nearly 30% of Indian Internet Users aged 16 to 64 increasingly rely on Voice Search as a tool for exploring information from the internet.
As voice search grows in popularity, it is important for healthcare providers and medical professionals to understand the technology, so they can optimize their websites for voice search. Optimizing for voice search is essential for any brand to stay ahead of the competition and having the best chance of appearing in results. It’s imperative to rethink your conventional online search strategy and approach these shifting expectations for brand discovery through voice search by optimising your website and social media pages now.
Let us understand deeply what various statistics say about this disrupting internet trend.
SEO and voice search statistics
If you want to stand the best chance of ranking organically for voice search queries, check out the voice search statistics below. These search statistics tell us more about how voice search relates to SEO. They reveal important ranking factors.And give a cue at SEO strategies that can help brands and businesses to remain highly visible in search engine results.
1. 22.8% of SEO professionals think voice search is the most important emerging SEO factor to watch
A survey by Search Engine Journal asked SEOs what they think the most important emergent factors were in SEO, and nearly a quarter of respondents said voice search. Voice search was the fifth most popular response to that particular question. Core Web Vitals was the top response with 36.6% of survey respondents rating it the most important emergent SEO factor.
2. 80% of voice search answers on Google Assistant come from the top 3 results
Data from SEMrush found that the vast majority of answers to voice search queries were pulled from the top 3 organic results. The conclusion: If you want to get featured in voice search answers on Google Assistant, you’ll need to rank at the very top of the SERPs first.
3. 70% of voice search answers come from SERP features
SERP features like Featured Snippets (the answer boxes at the top of the results pages) and People Also Ask sections have become more and more important to SEO over the last few years – and they’re especially important to voice search. A study by SEMrush found that more than two-thirds of all voice search answers on Google Assistant came from these kinds of SERP features.
4. Pages that rank for voice searches load 52% faster
The average voice search result page loads in approximately 4.6 seconds. This is 52% faster than regular search results pages and suggests that ‘Page Speed’ may be a particularly important ranking factor for voice search SEO. It makes sense that Google would prioritize page speed when it comes to voice search. When you speak into your smart device, you expect an almost instantaneous response – you don’t have time to wait around for the results to load.
5. Voice search results have 1199 likes & shares on Facebook
Users share voice search results actively on Facebook and Twitter. This suggests that social engagement may also be a big ranking factor for voice search. The upshot: if you want to rank for voice search, it may help to have a solid social strategy in place and promote your blog posts on social media.
6. The average voice search result has a DR of 76.8
DR (domain rating) is a measurement of the perceived authority of a website on a 100-point scale. Authority has always been an important ranking factor, but it seems to be particularly important for voice search as high-authority domains dominate the results. In an effort to make sure it’s only giving accurate responses to voice search queries, Google may be carefully selecting responses from only the most trustworthy domains.
7. Pages that rank for voice searches have an average word count of 2,312
Google Assistant also seems to prefer to source voice search answers from long-form content. The consequence: if you want to stand the best chance of ranking for voice search queries, publish long-form content.
8. Over 70% of websites that rank on Google’s voice search results are HTTPS secured
This stat suggests that HTTPS encryption may be another important ranking factor. If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, you may struggle to rank for voice search.
9. Only 1.71% of voice search results come from pages with an exact-match title tag
Keywords only appear in the title tag of a tiny fraction of voice search results pages, so don’t bother creating individual pages optimized around individual keywords. Instead, it’s better to write one pillar piece of content that answers multiple questions on the same page.
10. 58% of voice search users search for local business queries
Over half of people who use voice search do so to search for local business queries, using “Near Me” voice command. That might mean asking for directions to a local business, or checking opening hours or the best pizzeria.
11. The average result for local-intent voice search queries is 23 words long
This is the average length of answers to voice search queries across all digital assistants. So, if you’re trying to rank for voice search queries, keep your answers to common search queries short and sweet.
12. Google Assistant sources local-intent search query answers based on Google My Business
A voice search query likely will have local intent, and the first place they may find you is your local business listing and Local Pack SERP features. In contrast, Siri looks at Yelp reviews and Apple Maps to source answers for local-intent search queries. Having a 4.5/5 Yelp rating and a large number of Yelp reviews helps you to rank on Siri.
How To Optimise Your SEO For Voice Search
Optimising your website for voice search is essential for maximizing your visibility in search engine results. To optimize your website for voice search, you should focus on creating natural-sounding content that features long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are phrases that are longer and more specific than short keywords.
The Benefits Of Optimising For Voice Search
Optimising your website for voice search has several benefits.
First, it ensures your website is found when users perform voice searches.
Second, it helps you target customers who prefer to use voice search instead of entering their queries into a traditional search engine.
Finally, it increases the quality of your website as users will be able to find the content they need more quickly.
Get Ahead Of The Curve – Optimise For Voice Search
The advantages of optimizing for voice search are clear. If you haven’t begun the process of optimizing your website for voice search, then now is the time to start. Doing so will help you stay competitive, attract more customers, and remain visible in search engine results. It is worth considering especially foreseeing a rise in device technologies that rely less on touchscreens and pointers. With an intensely competitive search arena in 2023, your brand needs to promote your own ads through voice search.