Voice enabled devices are experiencing rapid growth, and according to a study done by PwC, 65% of 25-49 year olds that own one use it daily. This will and has already started to affect SEO. We’ve seen first hand how properly integrating voice search optimization into your marketing strategy can be a game changer. In fact, we have been offering Amazon Alexa skill development and Google Assistant Action development for years, monitoring the increase of user adoption. The voice revolution is here and the first step is to focus on optimizing your site for voice search. Consumers love voice search. From telling Alexa to turn on the lights to asking Google where the nearest pizza place is, voice technology has rapidly evolved from being a novel function into an essential tool. 
Increase Website Traffic and Revenue Voice Search Content Optimization Services
How to optimize your website for voice search?
To optimize your website for voice search, start by focusing on natural language and conversational keywords. People speak differently than they type, so use long-tail keywords and question-based phrases that reflect how users talk. Create clear content structures with headings and concise answers. Implement schema markup to help search engines better understand your site’s context and improve chances of appearing in voice results. Additionally, ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, as many voice searches happen on mobile devices. Use local SEO strategies by including location-specific keywords and keeping business listings up to date. Adding an FAQ section can help capture common voice queries. Prioritize high-quality, relevant content that answers user questions directly and effectively.
SEO vs. VSO – What’s The Difference?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has long been the gold standard when it comes to creating content users can easily find using a search engine. Voice Search Optimization (VSO) is essentially SEO for voice.
When users conduct a traditional text search on Google, Bing or any other search engine, they tend to type in specific keywords and fragmented phrases instead of using full sentences. By comparison, voice search through a smartphone or smart speaker starts with the user posing a complete question phrased using natural language. Voice search users are looking for specific information or answers by engaging in a conversation.
This is the critical distinction that sets VSO apart from SEO — with VSO, the search is done conversationally through spoken voice commands that are processed via an artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Users pose multiple, progressive questions to find the information they’re searching for.
By comparison, SEO focuses largely on keywords typed on a keyboard or touchscreen in order to generate search engine results pages (SERPs) with results that best match the user query.
Another key distinction between SEO and VSO is that there are two distinct types of voice search services — voice search optimization for search engines, and voice search optimization for voice assistants.
Voice Search Optimization For Search Engines
Voice-to-text search gives users a simple, hands-free way to perform an online search through Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. It’s been around for a number of years now, and back in 201e, Google’s Hummingbird update skewed the search engine’s algorithms to favor results that focused on user intent — Google began the push away from keyword stuffing toward content that actually answered user questions in a meaningful way.
Another critical component of VSO for search engines is a focus on local — users conducting voice-enabled searches are often looking for a product or service in their neighborhood, and that’s why it’s now common to find the phrase “near me” in online content.
Voice Search Optimization For Voice Assistants
VSO for voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant all use highly structured systems designed to generate accurate search results for their users. Unlike voice-powered search engine results that users will still view on a screen, voice assistant users expect to get the answers they want by relying solely on voice interaction with their smart speaker or another smart device.
To accurately match user intent and fulfillment, voice assistants engage in two-way conversations to generate natural, accurate responses to user queries — responses that are generated through an extensive development process by our VSO experts here at NextGate, Inc.
VSO Focus Areas
Here at NextGate, Inc, our team of voice search experts use our proprietary voice optimization process to deploy voice search solutions that deliver accurate results which are consistent with your brand. Our focus areas include:
- Voice experience optimization
- Voice search protocol adherence & customization
- Technical SEO
- Advanced schema / structured data markup
- Voice query research and optimization
- Identification of typed vs. voice search keywords
- Qualitative/quantitative voice search analysis marketing research
- Up-to-date voice search query data voice search analytics