Opportunities & results
The technology is well advanced by now, but in the Netherlands its use is still in its infancy. That means there are still plenty of opportunities to be the much-coveted result of a voice search. Unlike ‘typed’ searching, Google does not show 10 or more results: the assistant reads out just one result. By tying that one result to your company, you are a big step ahead of the competition. But how do you do that?
Rewrite your copy
Optimizing your website for voice search mainly happens by adapting the content. Where you previously chose to aim your content at terms like ‘plumber breda’ or ‘accounting firm tilburg’, when optimizing for voice searches you go for longer and more conversational terms like ‘a cheap plumber in breda’ or ‘where is the nearest accounting firm in tilburg’? Your copy should be as short as possible, so Google Assistant or Alexa does not have to read out an entire book to its users. Simple text, without jargon and difficult words, is a requirement too. After all, you do not want to put the technology to the test. On top of that, people who search by voice are often already busy with something else and not able to process complex information.
Use structured data
Strikingly enough, the voice search result is not always the same as the first search result from a regular, typed query. It is often taken from a so-called featured snippet. Those are the small blocks of text you sometimes see above the search results for certain queries, which answer the searcher’s question directly. The trick is to appear in those blocks with your content for relevant questions. Google has now also added structured data related to voice search, which lets you show the search engine exactly which part of your text answers a specific question. Which part is ‘speakable’, as Google calls it, and which piece is suitable to read out. Indispensable, but technically a lot more complicated to implement. Your website builder or SEO specialist can undoubtedly help you with this.
Put the focus on local searches
In many (if not all) cases, Google gives preference to local search results in voice search. That means that for certain search terms, local companies are favored over what may well be national or even international businesses. After all, those are often more relevant to the searcher. And that holds even more opportunity for you as a relatively small business owner. Fortunately, optimizing for local searches is not that hard. Google mainly needs to know where you are located. You can do that by requesting a Google My Business listing or, if you already have a business page, by updating your current listing with the current address. You can also mention your service area in various texts on your website.
Conclusion
Voice search may not be very big in the Netherlands yet, but the promise of voice searches makes it interesting to invest in. Competition is not very strong at the moment, which means there are opportunities to seize right now, even for the relatively small business owner.
