- The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best SEO Course For You - August 19, 2024
- How to Get SEO Certification & Why it Matters - August 17, 2024
- 10 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress Websites - August 16, 2024
Voice search has been gaining popularity in recent years, with an increasing number of people turning to voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant to search for information. In fact, according to a study by BrightLocal, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the past year. This makes optimizing for local voice search more important than ever.
In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about optimizing for local voice search.
Understanding Local Voice Search
Local voice search is a type of voice search that focuses on finding information about local businesses and services in a specific geographic location through voice command. For example, a user might say “Hey Google, find a pizza place near me.” This type of search is different from traditional text-based search in that it’s more conversational and takes into account the user’s location.
When a user performs a local voice search, the voice assistant will try to find the most relevant results based on the user’s location.
Location-based queries
Local voice search queries are typically location-based. For example, a user might say “Hey Google, find a pizza place near me.” In this case, the voice assistant will try to find the most relevant pizza places based on the user’s current location.
Conversational queries
Local voice search queries are typically more conversational than traditional text-based queries. This means that users are more likely to use natural language when performing a voice search. For example, a user might say “Where can I find the best Italian restaurant in Adelaide?” instead of “Italian restaurant Adelaide.”
Mobile-centric
Local voice search is often performed on mobile devices, as users are typically on-the-go when performing a voice search. This means that it’s important to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and optimized for local search.
Factors Affecting Local Voice Search
There are three main factors that affect local voice search results.
Relevance
Relevance refers to how well the search result matches the user’s query. When a user performs a voice search, the voice assistant tries to find the most relevant result based on the user’s query and location. To improve your relevance, it’s important to use long-tail, conversational keywords that match the way people speak. You should also create content with local intent, so that your content is more likely to be relevant to local voice search queries.
Distance
Distance refers to the proximity of the business to the user’s location. When a user performs a voice search for a local business, the voice assistant will prioritize results that are closer to the user’s location. To improve your distance, it’s important to claim and optimize your Google My Business listing, as this can help you appear in local search results for your area.
Prominence
Prominence refers to the popularity of the business, based on factors like online reviews and ratings. When a user performs a voice search for a local business, the voice assistant will prioritize results from businesses with a higher prominence. To improve your prominence, you should encourage your customers to leave online reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. This can help improve your visibility in local search results and increase your chances of appearing in voice search results.
How to Optimize for Local Voice Search
Follow the steps below if you want to become better in voice search.
Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to manage your business information across Google, including Google Maps and Google Search. By claiming and optimizing your listing, you can ensure that your business information is accurate and up-to-date. This can help improve your chances of appearing in local voice search results.
Use long-tail, conversational keywords
When optimizing for local voice search, it’s important to use long-tail, conversational keywords that are more likely to match the way people speak. For example, instead of targeting “pizza Adelaide,” you might target “where can I find the best pizza in Adelaide?”
Create content with local intent
Creating content with local intent can help improve your chances of appearing in local voice search results. For example, you might create a blog post about the best things to do in Adelaide, or a guide to the top restaurants in your area.
Use schema markup to provide context: Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines understand the content of your website. By using schema markup to provide context about your business, you can improve your chances of appearing in local voice search results.
Encourage online reviews
Online reviews and ratings are a key factor in local voice search rankings. Encouraging your customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook can help improve your visibility in local voice search results.
Conclusion
Optimizing for local voice search is becoming increasingly important as more and more people turn to voice assistants to search for information. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this post, you can improve your chances of appearing in local voice search results and attract more customers to your business.
If you choose ADEL SEO, best Adelaide SEO agency , we can give advice and optimise early on to dominate all aspects before your competitors even heard of it.