Voice search has evolved from a novelty to a necessity in modern ecommerce. By 2024, half of all searches will be voice-activated – a staggering shift in consumer behavior requiring immediate adaptation from online businesses.
What strategies can help you capitalize on this revolution? I have identified seven crucial areas to optimize for voice search and conversational commerce based on my own experiences future-proofing ecommerce stores.
Speak Naturally: Embrace Long-Tail, Conversational Keywords
The way we speak is more conversational than how we type. Voice searches often use full question sentences like “What are the best deals on wireless headphones?” Hence, incorporate such long-tail, conversational keywords within your content to match.
Pro Tip:
Analyze recent search queries by length to identify 5+ keyword conversational phrases to target.
Speed Kills Conversions: Shave Off Seconds
Here’s a shocker: over 50% of visitors will abandon a site that takes over 3 seconds to load. With voice search, speed is even more critical.
Regularly optimize site speed with common fixes like compressed images, files, minified code, or upgraded hosting if necessary.
Optimize for Mobile to Win Voice Search
As most voice searches occur on mobile, having a non-mobile friendly site essentially blocks a massive chunk of voice search traffic.
Quick Fix:
Frequently audit site responsiveness on real devices or emulators like Browser Stack, ensuring flawless functionality across screen sizes.
Local SEO – A Strategic Edge for Voice Search
Voice questions are often location-based, like “Where’s the nearest vegan bakery?” Local businesses can gain an edge through location-optimized content.
Keep Google My Business listings updated while localizing content with landmarks and geo-phrases.
Speak Google’s Language with Schema Markups
Schema markup enables search engines to comprehend your content’s context – almost like providing them CliffNotes.
Action Step:
Implement schema markup, especially on critical pages like product descriptions. Check out speakable schema from schema.org, but a good starting point would be to review https://optiminder.com/speakable-schema-org-markup/.
FAQs – Low-Hanging Conversational Content
FAQs allow simple conversational content optimization, directly answering common customer questions.
Craft useful FAQs in an engaging, conversational tone – benefiting both SEO and user experience.
Quality Over Quantity – Craft Engaging Content
Google favors content that’s informative, valuable and engaging. Simply creating content for its own sake leads nowhere.
As you optimize for voice search, focus on:
- Providing genuine value to users through solutions, answers and engagement
- Continual testing, iteration and evolution tied to landscape changes
- Routine checks on voice search compatibility across devices
Voice search represents a permanent shift towards conversational commerce. Optimization today means future-proofing for the voice-powered future of ecommerce. Experiment and pave the way for voice-activated success.
To Your Success,
Josh