How Are Your Customers Using Voice Search?

Today’s voice search technology has come a long way from its humble beginnings. There are more ways to conduct a voice search now more than ever. Customers are using their smartphones, tablets, home devices, and even their cars to conduct voice searches anytime, anywhere.

There’s also an equally broad host of voice assistants for them to choose from. Lots of people use Google, and iPhone users love the convenience of Siri. We’ve even had the chance to see a handful of popular assistants come and go. Since the failure of Windows Phone, Cortana hasn’t been entirely eradicated- but she has been confined to being used exclusively in Windows Teams, no longer serving as a search engine assistant.

The point of bringing attention to these different search avenues is that consumers now have tons of ways to conduct a voice search, so it’s important to take their preferences into consideration when optimizing your website.

What Kind of Keywords Should You Be Using?

When customers use voice search, they are typically not looking for sources of information to comb through but for direct answers to their queries. For websites trying to rank, this means that short and precise keywords just aren’t going to cut it. To optimize for voice search, websites must now implement very specific long-tail keywords that will answer consumer questions.

The bright side to this is that long-tail keywords are easier to rank for than shorter “head” keywords, given that they are so precise. Take advantage of the opportunity to rank for long-tail keywords without much competition for now, because there is a very good chance that they will become much more competitive as voice search continues to grow in popularity.

MFG Tribe specializes in site audits to track and boost your keyword rankings through SEO. Reach out today to schedule a meeting with us.

How Do You Tailor Content to Your Customers?

This one ties into the two previous subjects. To tailor your web content to your customers, it is imperative that you understand the way that your target audience is using voice search. Without obtaining and analyzing this key user data, chances are that your attempts to optimize just won’t work.

You should have a customer persona, a fictional customer profile based off of your real or ideal customer base. If you haven’t developed one yet, stop what you’re doing right now and create that persona. Ask yourself what kind of audience you are trying to cater to. Research that audience and their voice search habits. What is their preferred device? Their preferred search engine? What kind of questions are they asking that you have the answer to? What search trends are there for you to follow? Think of all of these things when optimizing your website and the traffic will come.

Are You Making the Most of Local SEO?

“Near me” is one of the most common phrases used in voice searches. When people are looking for something they want it in their immediate vicinity, the closer the better. It’s a pattern across the board.

You can use this to your advantage by incorporating local keywords into your SEO. Use plenty of language on your website that establishes your brand as a local gem or top local business in your field. When you focus on a local scope, patterns become easier to spot.

Find out what relevant searches are trending in your area. Incorporate local keywords into your website copy to start ranking for those keywords. Your location should be somewhere on your website- on your About page, your Contact page, or Directions page if you have one. Spoiler, you should have one. An embedded Google map is the easiest way to get people to find you.

Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

While there are tons of avenues for voice search available, mobile phones are undoubtedly one of the most prominent. This applies in a general sense, but especially when it comes to optimizing your website for voice search: you NEED a mobile friendly website.

If a search engine returns your page then the customer clicks on it to see that it’s awkward or poorly formatted, they will waste no time clicking away to a different site- probably one of your competitors’. To keep your traffic up and maximize session duration, mobile users absolutely cannot be neglected.

There are plenty of web design tools out there to optimize web pages for mobile use. Agencies like MFG Tribe who offer web design services can take care of this too if you’re looking for some professional polish.

You can increase engagement on your website by including appealing images. Photos make people feel welcome and show them that a level of care was put into the site design.

Be selective about the keywords you use. Long-tail keywords can be a double-edged sword that need to be wielded carefully. Just because long-tail keywords are generally easier to rank for, that doesn’t mean you should just go for the low-hanging fruit. Choose keywords that will bring the traffic you want to your website. Don’t use them just to use them.

Keywords aren’t just important for your copy. You should be using keywords in your slugs, the snippet of the URL that comes after the .com/ part. When search engines crawl your website looking for keywords, slugs are a part of the picture the same way that copy is. This makes it easier for users to navigate your page too because a concise slug can be understood better than a series of numbers and letters or an unrelated title.

From web design to copy, we do it all. Find out how MFG Tribe is dominating industrial marketing and join our list of awesome clients today.

Want to get the most out of your industrial marketing strategy? Consult the experts here at MFG Tribe. We are a specialized

industrial/manufacturing marketing agency that understands the ins and outs of your product and what you do.