Voice search SEO relies on concepts similar to traditional SEO. In order to have your results selected as the response to a voice search, there are a few best practices to remember.
- Long-tail keywords are key
- Structed data and Schema.org provide clear answers
- Relevant content that answers the searcher’s intent
- Flow of the article
Long-tail keywords are key
Long-tail keywords are defined as being three or more words. A good example of this is “dark chocolate candy bar” versus “candy” or “candy bar.”
Long-tail keywords give you the best chance at ranking since there are fewer searches for any given term compared to head terms. While this concept is not unique to voice search, it is equally as important to voice search SEO as it is to traditional search. This is especially true given the nature of voice search queries being in the form of questions.
Structured data and Schema.org provide clear answers
The use of structured data is critical to helping search engines understand your content. The most common usage is Schema.org. Using that foundation can help you tag things like your location’s address, hours of operation, phone number, email address and more. These are great for obtaining position zero in traditional SERPs, but even more important for voice search SEO. Typically, the response provided is derived from the structured data within the content.
Relevant content that answers the searcher’s intent
The relevance of the content as it relates to the searcher’s intent is as important in voice search SEO as it is in traditional SEO. If the results are not applicable to what searchers are seeking, then they will immediately go back and try the next result or refine their query to find the answer they are seeking.
Flow of the article
How the article is laid out matters as well. In order to follow best practices for voice search SEO, it’s important to make sure that the title of the article matches the question or query used in the search. In addition, the use of H2s to outline the steps involved in the answer is critical to your content being picked up in voice search results as well as rich snippets in traditional search.