Current SEO Techniques for Voice Searches

If you want to specialize in voice searches, this article is just for you! It should be noted very practically that if you want to be successful in voice searches; You should try to be in the Featured Snippets areas. However, you still need to give special importance to Local SEO as a very basic issue. A mobile-friendly site is a must!

Before starting SEO techniques in voice searches, let's make a brief introduction to SEO;

“The word SEO consists of the first letters of the expression Search Engine Optimization. Its Turkish equivalent is expressed as search engine optimization. If we examine SEO work, as its name suggests, we can describe it as a study that makes internet projects suitable for search engines with certain rules and ensures that sites rank higher in searches. Search engines give quality scores to websites within the specified rules. These quality scores are provided by the text and visual content we use throughout our site, clean and fast code structure, user-friendly interface and certain search engine tags.”

Now, let's look at more detailed SEO techniques that will bring you success in voice searches...

Although there are many different SEO techniques required for voice searches, before this goal, you need to have your SEO audit done in general. For example; have you done a keyword research? Is your content strategy ready? Is your domain address authoritative enough? Taking action only for voice searches without applying these and many other basic SEO techniques may not work on its own!

Voice searches are a great advantage, especially for Turkey. Because very few of your competitors are improving themselves in this regard. In other words, your competitive advantage is high!

In the very near future; Assistants such as Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant, Siri will become an important part of our lives. People will change their search habits on Google. This is why voice searches are on the rise...

It is estimated that by 2020, 50% of all searches will be made through voice searches. We recently shared a news story in which Google announced that it can even index podcast content. These and similar developments are actually the harbingers of the definite rise of voice searches!

So, what are the current SEO techniques for voice searches?

1. Try to be included in featured areas like Featured Snippets.

Voice searches, like many other types of searches, are after informative short answers. This is essential for user satisfaction! Many assistants like Siri read Featured Snippets content to users after voice searches. We are now living in a period where the concept of “Position Zero” has come to life. Today, being on the first page of Google is of course valuable; but “zero position” is at least as valuable! If you are successful in SEO in areas like Featured Snippets, you can think of yourself as being on the first page of Google. Voice search SEO is perhaps the most effective technique for zero position success!

SEO techniques that will help you stand out in Featured Snippets areas for voice searches:

Being on Featured Snippets areas does not always mean “position zero” success. Also, your only goal should not be “position zero”. Just as being on the first page of Google, in the second or third place is a significant achievement, the same applies to “position zero”! When you stand out in featured areas, you can also be in the second or third place. Google pulls 70% of Featured Snippets content from sites that are not in the first place! To summarize, what you need to do is; if you have managed to be on the first page of Google once (you can be in the 10th place), now you need to focus on how “consistent” and “relevant” your content is! If you can achieve this, it means you have gained a huge advantage in voice searches.

Your content (including text) should be in a quality that can answer specific questions. For example; recipes, health information (reliable) can easily find a place for themselves in these special areas. Therefore, before producing your content; it would be useful to do some research on the most frequently asked questions and the most preferred content titles!

Well-organized content with styles such as paragraph, list, table has a higher chance! Make sure your paragraphs are under 50 words. Keep sentences short. Optimize your paragraphs on keywords. Table and list formats are also advantageous both visually and because they are easy to understand! Stay away from very advanced terminology. Make your writing understandable. Similarly, jargons may not bring you success; because you are actually addressing a very wide target audience.

2. Optimize your content separately for voice searches.

Although we have actually touched on this topic above, we will go into a little more detail since it is a very important title. In fact, another important term regarding how content should be is “being concise”. Make your content concise! Smart assistants are constantly learning and improving themselves because they work with artificial intelligence algorithms. The language and tone characteristics of the texts are moving towards “natural language”. In other words, just like you would talk to a friend… Users talk to assistants like Siri as if they were asking for help from a friend! At this point, the keywords we call “long tail” become important again. We recommend that you read our previous articles about long-tail keywords.

Should content be long or short for voice searches?

Your content should be long, like in traditional SEO, around 1,800 words. But there is a difference, you should keep the sentences short! For example; people use voice searches for very practical purposes such as “… show me the nearest Turkish restaurant…”. Therefore, do not use complicated words when you say you will write a rich text. Have a simple, clear language that inspires confidence.

We also recommend preliminary analyses such as the most frequently asked questions and title research.

3. You now need to be an expert in being mobile-friendly!

In terms of both user-friendliness and Google algorithms, voice searches are moving specifically through mobile. Therefore, there is no escape from a mobile-friendly website! Switch to “responsive” sites rather than adaptive site technique. “Responsive” sites are compatible with all kinds of devices; tablet, phone, computer…

Let’s also remember that site speed is important!

4. Local SEO is important for voice searches!

If you are a local business, this is an advantage for you for voice searches! Approximately 22% of voice searches are related to local searches. We can say that restaurants are especially at the forefront in this regard.

Therefore, if you want your potential customers to reach you easily, you should definitely follow the normal SEO protocols (for Local SEO), as we mentioned at the beginning of our article.

Use regionally focused search terms such as “nearby places” in “meta” tags. The same applies to “landing” pages.