Tips to Optimize Your Site for Voice Search

As virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa become a fixture in our everyday lives, more and more people are utilizing voice search. Just like with any other search, you want your business to be the first one that pops up. The following are some useful tips and tricks that will help you become a favorite of virtual assistants everywhere (or just in your town, depending on your business).

Thoroughness Is Key

You want your listings on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other sites to be accurate, complete, and identical. Make sure to include all the details you can. That includes your phone number, business hours, website, and location. Search engines are designed to give your customers the best possible result, which means they drastically favor businesses that provide as much information as possible. Don’t forget to keep the information up-to-date, as well!

Figure Out What Your Customers Are Asking

Some voice search systems allow you to ask follow-up questions. Optimize your site and your listings by providing the answers to those questions and not only will it show your customers that you really have it together, but it will help you get more of the right customers.

Focus on Reviews

Google loves it when businesses have great reviews. In fact, they love it so much that it comes into play for both text and voice searches. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on a wide variety of review sites and put a concerted effort into your overall online reputation.

Go Past Just Google

Google is an invaluable tool for businesses, don’t get us wrong. That being said, there are other sites out there that certain voice search systems turn to first. For example, Alexa uses Bing. Foursquare, Yellowpages, and HomeAdvisor are great places to start. Just make sure you cover as much ground as possible with, again, thorough and up-to-date listings.

Don’t Get Too Technical

When you use voice search, do you speak to your device like a robot or like a person? Chances are, it’s the latter. People are incredibly casual when it comes to how they phrase their voice search queries. Because of that, it’s in your best interest to not only utilize SEO keywords, but simple, conversational phrases. It can be particularly helpful to use local dialect when you optimize your site. For example, say you own a grocery store. Depending on where you are in the country, this could be the market, the supermarket, or of course, a grocery store. Phrase your site the way your audience will understand it, and the way they’ll phrase it to their voice search system.

Keep Up With Your Content

All search engine searches prioritize websites that actively add new content. Add original content on a regular basis. This content should be useful and targeted toward your business’ average customer, so that your company will stand out whenever they ask a question about your industry.

Top Rated Local® can help you keep track of all the profiles voice search will scan to figure out whether or not you’re a good fit for a search query. Sign up today and start working on your online reputation!

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