The Impact of Voice Search on SEO and Content Strategy

Voice search may have seemed like a futuristic ability in the past, but nowadays, it’s very much a regular occurrence in our everyday lives. People can actually speak to their phones and get competent, helpful answers back! This beneficial ability has truly changed the world of SEO in Auckland. 

Think about it – how you talk isn’t exactly how you type, especially when you’re asking Google a question. If you need to find a good pet hotel in your area, you might type ‘pet hotel Auckland NZ’ into Google’s search bar. But if you were asking a friend, you might say, ‘Where’s a good pet hotel near me in Auckland?’

Both of those phrases are searching for the same answer, but as you can see, they’re structured very differently. 

Because those two queries differ, businesses and web designers need to smartly change their SEO strategies to fully capitalise on their efforts.

What Exactly Is Voice Search?

How does voice search work with SEO in Auckland?

Voice search is a type of search function where users can speak their questions into a device, usually their smartphone or a smart speaker, and receive helpful responses. Devices that utilise assistants like Alexa can hear what you say, do a quick search, and provide you with the answers you need. 

These devices use incredible speech recognition technologies to convert the sounds you make into text and then send that text to a search engine. Then, the search engine acts exactly as if you typed the words in yourself.

This convenient ability is extremely important for a number of reasons. For one, it’s convenient. You can get answers without even physically picking up your phone! This is why voice search has become so popular in New Zealand and the world. 

Because people tend to speak more naturally than they type, you can see why this has affected SEO strategies in Auckland so drastically.

How Has Voice Search Changed the World of SEO and Content Strategy?

How exactly has voice search changed how we approach website optimisation? 

Well, there are a few answers to that question, such as:

Questions Are Becoming More Conversational. As we mentioned before, people tend to speak more naturally when they say their words out loud. You might be very curt and to the point in text, especially if you’re just asking a search engine a question. But if you’re speaking out loud, you’re more likely to talk like you’re having a casual conversation, even if you’re speaking to an AI assistant. 

So, questions can change significantly. ‘Fast food restaurant Auckland’ becomes ‘Are there any good fast food places around here in Auckland?’ and ‘pipes leaking help’ becomes ‘What should I do if my pipes are leaking?’ These changes can affect what shows up in search engine results. 

When writing content for your website and thinking about SEO in Auckland, try to speak naturally and casually. This will more easily match the tone that searchers use when looking for answers and thus will lead to higher search engine results.

An Increased Use of Long-Tail Keywords. A long-tail keyword is basically a keyword that’s far more specific than a short-tail keyword. 

For instance, while the short-tail keyword may be ‘shirt,’ a long-tail keyword that corresponds to that would be ‘cute women’s dress shirt’. 

People tend to use more long-tail keywords than short-tail keywords when using voice search. Instead of robotically reciting ‘flower delivery’ into their phone, a person is likelier to ask, ‘Hey, are there any good flower delivery stores around here?’

It’s very important to try and put yourself in your audience’s shoes when writing long-tail keywords. Imagine yourself as a customer who needs your services. What questions would you ask? What long-tail keywords would you from? 

How voice search will impact SEO strategy

Searches Are More Focused on Questions. A big change that Auckland SEO strategists must realise is that searches are far more focused on questions now. Even if someone is looking for basic information, they’re probably going to make their search in the form of a question. 

It’s pretty easy to understand why this is. You’re probably not going to awkwardly demand information when you’re speaking out loud as you would when you’re simply typing. When you’re speaking, you’ll probably say, ‘How can I relieve these painful headache symptoms?’ rather than ‘headache cures now’. 

There are More Location-Based Searches. There are more location-based searches now than ever. This is partly due to technology’s amazing ability to pinpoint your location to give you location-based recommendations.

So, people all over Aotearoa and the world are smartly utilising voice search to ask questions with ‘near me’ endings. You can turn on your phone, ask, ‘Are there any good restaurants near me?’ and enjoy a delicious meal within the hour.

Auckland SEO strategists can take advantage of this by including location-based words and phrases in their content. Make sure you mention the city or area you operate from, or your business’s service area, so people can know if you’re available to them. 

Mobile Optimisation is More Important Than Ever. People usually use voice search on their smartphones. When they search, they might be led to a website, but they’ll quickly click out of that website if it’s not optimised for mobile use. 

Mobile optimisation has been incredibly popular since mobile phones became the norm, and with voice search, it’s more important than ever. You’ll want the potential customer searching for your services to be able to find and use your website with ease. 

Make sure your website has a responsive design that makes it simple to use from any device that can access it, from home PCs to mobile phones with much smaller screens. 

So What Can I Do to Optimise My Website and Its Content?

The best way to fully optimise your website for SEO is to entrust your website’s design and SEO strategy to an innovative Auckland company like Kiwi Website Design.

We always stay up to date with recent changes in the world of SEO and website design, and we make sure to implement any important trends or methods into our strategy for the best results possible. 

Would you like to make your website better and more effective than ever? We’re here to help! You can reach out to us through our contact page, or you could give us a buzz on XXXX.

The world of SEO is constantly changing – stay relevant and successful with Kiwi Website Design!