How to make your website rank highly in voice searches
When you’re working to ensure your website performs well in web searches, you can’t afford to ignore the growing importance of voice searches. The advent of Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google search has caused a massive surge in the number of people using spoken questions to find the things they need on the internet. A PwC study found that 71 percent of US adults would prefer to use a voice assistant rather than type in their search.
How can I make my site perform well in voice searches?
Here are seven steps to boost your site’s voice search performance.
Secure your site
Research by Backlinko looked at 10,000 search results from Google Home. It found that 70.4 percent of the results were web pages that are secured with HTTPS – so if you have not made your site secure, now is the time to get an SSL certificate acknowledging the fact your site creates a secure online connection with its visitors.
Include longform content
Backlinko also found that the average word count was 2,312 words – indicating that Google voice search tends to favour web pages with long form content.
Make sure your site performs well in desktop searches
The research found that 75 percent of voice search results rank in the top three for that query in a desktop search – so ensuring your page is performing well in desktop searches will mean it has a better chance of being accessed by a voice search. Take a look at this article for SEO tips.
Write featured snippets
Featured snippets are very helpful: Backlinko found that 40.7 percent of all voice search answers came from a featured snippet. Backlinko also found that the typical voice search result is only 29 words long, indicating that Google prefers short, concise answers to voice search queries. That means that while it’s good to have long-form content on your page, concise answer snippets are a vital element to improve your ranking. If you’d like to know more about how to make sure your website performs well in featured snippets, this article will help.
Make sure your website loads quickly
Fast loading websites appear to perform better in voice search results: Backlinko found that the average voice search result page loads in 4.6 seconds, which is 52 percent faster than the average page. You can evaluate your page speed with Google’s PageSpeed Insights. For useful advice on how to improve site speed, look at this article.
Boost your site’s authority
Sites with higher authority tend to perform a lot better in voice searches than sites with lower authority. You can improve your domain authority in multiple ways. Some of the key methods include SEO optimisation, making sure your website is mobile friendly, improving your page speed and increasing your social media presence.
Keep it simple
When writing your website content, remember that voice search favours copy that is simple and straightforward: the average Google voice search result is written at a level a 14-year-old would easily understand.
Need help?
At Primedia Marketing we’re experts at improving our clients’ search engine rankings – and that includes helping them appear in voice search results. We’ll take care of all the factors mentioned above, and many more, to ensure your website performs brilliantly. If you’d like to know more, get in touch today.
