With the rapid rise of digital technology, the marketing tactics that worked 10 years ago are completely different than what is seen today. As the digital marketing world is ever-evolving, it is crucial for businesses to stay on top of the latest advancements. Optimizing copy for voice search is perhaps the most critical shift in today’s marketing world that must be taken advantage of.
Voice search is quickly impacting the ways that consumers interact with their technological devices, with 41% of adults using it on a daily basis. To summarize, voice search makes it possible for users to verbalize their commands and questions to their devices. This may include looking up information online, calling or texting individuals, setting appointments, and much more.
In turn, a device’s built in voice assistant takes in the verbal information and completes the task that is needed from them, and even speak back to consumers. The top three voice search assistant’s on the marketplace today include Google Voice Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa. These voices have quickly infiltrated laptops, phones, tablets, and smart speakers.
Overall, much of voice search’s success is associated with:
- It’s convenient and easy to use for all ages
- Consumers’ ability to engage with their devices on-the-go without even needing to look at their screen
- A more interpersonal feeling that associated with speaking to a human-sounding voice
Changes In SEO Copywriting With Voice Search and Assistants
With voice assistants comes a new form of SEO copywriting. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of implementing tactics to help your content perform more favorably with search engine algorithms. Simply put, strong SEO is what gets your content in front of your ideal consumer’s eyes. The better you rank on search engines, the higher your chances of being clicked on.
Searching through a voice assistant warrants a different conversational style, and perhaps even a different search topic, than the queries that are commonly typed out on a keyboard. It is important to structure your content in a way that is optimized for SEO to appeal to these new formats of inquiries.
5 Simple Ways To Elevate Your Web Copy For Voice Search
Optimizing copy for voice search doesn’t have to a huge undertaking. A few simple adjustments and tweaks to your current SEO copywriting strategy might just be your golden ticket to better rankings, traffic, and audience reach.
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of copywriting tactics, here are 5 simple tips and ideas to get closer to your voice search copywriting goals:
#1: Answer Your Audiences Burning Questions
For the majority of voice search users, the go-to is asking their voice assistant a question. There’s no denying that the set-up of voice assistants make it as natural as ever for consumers to seek answers through their devices. When speaking aloud, using a full grammatical question to gain information makes more sense than using a couple of words.
Creating a detailed frequently asked question page, or FAQ page, makes it as easy as possible for your consumers to find the solutions they are asking voice assistants for. Better yet, if there’s a specific product that you know your audiences are seeking information about, you can even make a dedicated FAQ page for it. In general, consumers appreciate when answers are accessible and easy to find on your website.
#2: K.I.S.S. or “Keep It Simple Stupid”
Ever heard of the acronym KISS, or keep it simple, stupid? While this golden phrase is mostly coveted in the advertising world, it can be wildly beneficial to keep in mind when you are writing for voice search. If your audience opts to verbally consume your written content with the help of Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, simple copy will sound much more organic than one full of fancy words or run on sentences.
But sometimes ‘simple’ looks different for different audiences. A smart rule-of-thumb when crafting any kind of compelling copy, especially with voice search, is taking the time to understand who your target audience really is. That way, you are better able to craft messages that will resonate and connect to their experiences, values, and way of speaking. To write in a conversational way that translates to your unique target audience, it is important to think about:
- The tone of voice that resonates with your consumers the most
- The vernacular or slang that is used in your consumer’s geographic location, job, or culture
- The level of education or professionalism that your average consumer possesses
#3: Take Advantage of Long-Tail Keywords
Going off of the idea of informal and conversational writing for voice search, another way to accomplish this goal is through long-tail keywords. We all know one of the tried and true methods for ranking highly on search engines is through keyword research. By understanding the commonly used keywords that consumers search for, you are then able to integrate these keywords into your copy.
The exact same notion applies to voice search copywriting, but in this case, long-tail keywords reign king. This is because they are more conversational in tone. Plus, when user’s speak to devices in lieu of typing, they are much more likely to use full sentences with phrases as opposed to a single keyword or two. Long-tail keywords are phrases that are 3-5 words on average, and are easy additions to any blog or landing page. Placing one in an article headline packs an even bigger punch.
#4: Avoid Keyword Stuffing At All Costs
Although we just discussed the power that long-tail keywords can bring your copy, too much of a good thing never ends well. If you put too many of the same phrase or word into your text, it’s bound to sound unappealing. This is especially the case in voice search situations when a voice assistants reads your copy aloud to users.
Keyword stuffing is often the culprit of copy that sounds repetitive, forced, and overall sales-y or robotic in nature. Even if the phrase is what gained you your audience’s initial attention, it will by no means sustain it when written in excess.
#5: Put Your Business On The Digital Map
Were you aware that 22% of the queries that make up voice searches revolve around the location-based content? If you have a brick and mortar store and aren’t up-to-date on your business’s location online, then you’re greatly missing out on potential customers in your area.
Overall, establishing the whereabouts of your business is crucial for connecting with local consumers searching for your product in their region or city. Ensuring that your Google business listing is updated with your location, address, contact information, and hours of operation are a great place to start for gaining local traffic.
Leverage The Power of Copywriting Today
At its core, well-written copy is key to keeping your business’s marketing efforts afloat, especially when it comes to new voice assistant technologies of Google, Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa. Reach your full marketing potential by putting this copywriting guide to the test.