Voice search and SEO: possibilities for 2018

29
Dec

Here at Pumpkin Web Design, we are Preston’s leading web marketing and SEO experts. From building your company website, to ongoing web marketing and content support, we really do offer the total package. That’s partly because we are always on the ball with the latest developments in all things web. Last week, we brought you the web design trends that had been big in 2017, but this week we are looking to the future. With 2018 just around the corner, it made sense for us to take a look at what the future will have in store for web marketing. One of the central themes that is continuing to pop up is voice search and SEO. In fact, over at Search Engine Land , voice search is one of the key trends that will dominate 2018.

The rise of voice search

It is undeniable that voice search is growing at a fast rate. Popular with all age ranges, it is a straight forward and simple way to find answers to anything you are looking for. It is fast and convenient, and a study by Stone Temple Consulting found that:

⦁ People age 24 and under are 33% more likely to use voice search in public
⦁ 70% of people think voice search is fast and easy
⦁ Less than 20% of people don’t use it at all
⦁ 70% of people prefer voice search to typing

As a result, typed out searches are becoming less and less popular, and SEO and web marketing teams are developing ways to focus increasingly on voice search.

Voice search and SEO

You might not think so, but voice search does have an influence on the search engine results page that is displayed. So if your company is ranking highly for one search term, you might want to check that rank again using voice search. As a result, some changes need to be made to the search engine optimization tactics used.

1. Natural Speech

While personal assistants such as the Google assistant and Siri are getting much better at recognizing natural speech patterns, companies are not changing their written content to match this change. So while some companies are still producing content geared towards text based questions, which will be direct and short, others are making huge progress by aiming at conversational questions in longer formats. After all, while we might type it, we dont say “Plumbers Preston”, we ask instead “Are there any emergency plumbers in Preston?”. So make sure you gear towards the verbal questions, as well as text based search inquiries.

2. Long-tail Keywords

Similarly, this has a knock on effect on keywords. While short tail keywords were once the pinnacle of SEO, long tailed keywords will now need a larger share of your time and content. With 20% of all mobile searches being verbal, longer sentences and phrases are becoming increasingly important. This means that whatever you sell, you need to use longer phrases that are more specific, to capture the voice searching segment of the audience. For example, instead of advertising “boiler installations” a plumbing and heating specialist would instead advertise “Worcester Bosch combination boiler installations”.

3. Even More Emphasis On Mobile

Finally, with voice search taking place for the most part on mobile devices, you need to make sure that your website is fully responsive and designed with mobile viewers in mind. This is because with Google’s mobile first algorithm, websites that fail to be truly mobile ready will rank lower than others. So not only do you need to rethink your content and keywords strategy, you also need to reconsider your mobile website.

In summary

Voice search is on the rise, and as more and more progress is made with personal assistants, experts predict that voice search really will be the future of search. This means that web marketing and SEO practices need to change and develop in line with these developments. From understanding and using natural phrases that will become search terms, to making the most out of long tailed keywords, voice search is changing the way we produce content. It also has a role in web design, where an emphasis on mobile is essential.

For help or advice with any of these aspects of web marketing and SEO, why not ask the professionals today, here at Pumpkin Web Design?

Pumpkin Web Design Ltd is a small and highly results driven digital agency working for like minded clients in Preston, Chorley, Southport, Blackburn, Burnley, Morecambe,Wigan, Manchester, London, Warrington, Blackpool, Lancaster, Leyland, Lytham St Annes, Bolton, Chester and the UK. Our services include web design, SEO, content marketing, video production, brand design and much more.