Optimizing for Voice Search 

As noted here in the Advertising section on page 4, the need for a “voice specific strategy” is not yet upon us. Optimizing for voice search currently is all about data structuring, website additions and keyword optimization. Paying attention to these three items will allow you to capitalize on the increase in volume that is is being introduced by voice search.

Some 40% of adults use voice search once per day, and Google voice search queries were up 35 fold in 2017 from 2008 levels 

Source:comScore

Voice searches are largely about answering questions. Ensure that your Search Terms include phrase targeting for voice queries. Ensure that your FAQ page contains commonly asked questions related to your business. Review and expand these as a team. Review Search Console and Analytics tools to capture data on what is driving visits.

Most voice searches are performed on some sort of mobile device. So ensure  that your site is good to go on mobile. 

Be aware that search engines are using mobile-first indexing, which means that it doesn't really matter how responsive your desktop site is; if your mobile site is a dud, your search ranking will be a dud, period. Creating a positive mobile experience means your content must be digestible to the user. Long paragraphs should be reconsidered in favor of short, 2-3 sentence tidbits.

One thing you can do is make sure you’re structuring data on your site according to Schema Markup. Voice will rely heavily on this markup vocabulary. Ad extensions for voice will also most likely be based on the use of structured markup.

This is one of the biggest uses of voice search today. A large driver is Google My Business, so ensure that your My Business listing is accurate and that you are responding to all reviews. Consumers do use positive reviews to inform their purchase decisions. 

It turns out that YouTube videos do show up in voice searches. This could be an entry path for some businesses into voice search rankings. Ensure you use proper titles and descriptions to capture question related queries such as “how to ….”

Try to put your voice strategy into the parameters of answering questions. Spend time with schema markup or ensure your content management system does. Include phrase targeted keyword searches within your PPC programs.