The Impact of Voice Search on Content Marketing: What You Need to Know

"Alexa, what's shaking up content marketing in 2023?" As we increasingly turn to our trusted digital sidekicks for answers, voice search is transforming the way we interact with texts, videos, and podcasts. In this blog post, we'll explore the profound impact of this technology on content marketing and reveal how you can stay ahead of the game. And for those hungry to uncover overall search trends for 2023, don't worry – you can read about them in our blog post “Search Evolution 2023. Google, Amazon, TikTok, ChatGPT, and What it Means for Brands.” But for now, let's give voice to this game-changing technology and examine how you can make it work for your brand.

Understanding Voice Search and its Impact on Content Marketing

Voice search is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to find information online. Today, about 71% of consumers prefer speaking search queries to typing them. By using their voice, users can get quick and easy results without having to type anything. This trend has significant implications for content marketing. In this section, we will explore how voice search works, the differences between voice and traditional text search, and the effect of this new technology on SERPs.

Voice search leverages speech recognition to understand what the user is saying and to provide relevant results. When a person speaks into their device, their spoken words are converted into text. A search engine processes it then and provides corresponding results.

The primary difference between voice and traditional text search is the way people formulate their queries. When typing a query, they tend to use short, concise phrases. Using their voice, people are more likely to speak in a natural way and pose questions in a conversational tone. For example, someone might type “best pizza near me,” while someone using voice might ask, “What is the best pizza place near me?”

Key Factors Influencing Voice Search Optimization

This section explores the key factors that influence voice search optimization, including the use of conversational and long-tail keywords, the importance of local search and "near me" queries, and the role of mobile-friendliness and page speed.

Conversational and long-tail keywords

It's essential to focus on conversational and long-tail keywords. This means incorporating natural language and phrases that people are more likely to use when speaking, rather than mostly leveraging shorter, more generic keywords. By doing so, you increase the chances of your texts, videos, and podcasts being found and ranking higher in SERPs.

The importance of local search and "near me" queries

Many users rely on voice assistants to find businesses and services near them. Queries that include phrases like "near me" or "closest to me" are increasingly common, and optimizing for these local-based searches is crucial for companies looking to attract nearby customers.

To capitalize on this trend, ensure that your business is listed correctly on Google My Business and other relevant directories, and use location-specific keywords in your content. Additionally, optimize your website for local search by adding schema markup and including information like your address, phone number, and opening hours.

Mobile-friendliness and page speed

Smartphones are the most popular device for voice search. This makes mobile-friendliness and page speed essential factors for optimization. A website optimized for mobile devices and boasting fast loading times is likely to enjoy higher rankings in SERPs.

To improve your site's mobile-friendliness, ensure that your site is responsive and adapts to various screen sizes, utilizes easy-to-read fonts, and has a simple navigation structure. Additionally, work on improving your page speed by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing the use of render-blocking resources.

Strategies for Adapting Content Marketing to Voice Search

In this section, we'll explore three key strategies for adapting your content marketing to the new trend. They include creating texts, videos, and podcasts that answer specific questions, incorporating structured data and schema markup, and updating and optimizing existing ones.

Creating content that answers specific questions

Users often ask specific questions rather than using generic keywords. Therefore, it's crucial to create pieces that directly answer them. Crafting informative, high-quality texts, videos, etc. that answer common questions related to your industry or niche can help your website rank higher in SERPs.

One effective way to do this is by creating FAQ pages, in-depth guides, and blog posts that meet that criterion. They should be written using natural language and conversational phrasing to make your content more accessible and better optimized.

Incorporating structured data and schema markup

Structured data and schema markup play a significant role in optimizing content for voice search. By providing search engines with detailed, organized information about your texts and videos, structured data increases the effectiveness of their indexing.

Implementing schema markup on your website can improve your chances of being featured on SERPs or being selected as a featured snippet. To get started, use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper to generate the appropriate code for your content, and add it to your website's HTML.

Updating and optimizing existing content for voice search

Optimizing your existing texts, videos, and podcasts is just as important as creating new ones. Review them and identify opportunities to make them more conversational, include long-tail keywords, and answer specific questions.

As you update your content, also pay attention to factors that influence voice search rankings, such as mobile-friendliness and page speed. By optimizing your texts and videos for all kinds of searches, you'll increase the likelihood of attracting a wider audience and being placed higher on SERPs.

Measuring the Success of Voice Search Optimization: A Data-Driven Approach

It's crucial to measure the success of optimization efforts and make data-driven decisions to improve performance. Here is what you need to do.

• Track voice search traffic and conversions to gauge the effectiveness of your optimization efforts. While Google Analytics does not provide a specific filter for the required type of traffic, you can use UTM parameters to monitor it from voice-enabled devices. Additionally, monitor conversions from these sources to understand how consumers using voice interact with your website and whether they're turning into customers.
• Analyze keyword rankings and click-through rates. Focus on the performance of long-tail, conversational keywords. Monitor how you rank for these keywords and track your CTRs to determine if your optimization efforts are paying off. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help you with that.
• Adjust strategies based on the data you've gathered on traffic, conversions, keyword rankings, and CTRs. Look for patterns and trends in it that can guide your optimization efforts, such as underperforming keywords or high-converting content types. Use these insights to refine your voice search strategy and make informed decisions to improve your overall performance.

As we've explored throughout this blog post, the growing importance of voice search in content marketing cannot be overstated. That’s why businesses and marketers must adapt and stay ahead of the curve by optimizing their content accordingly.

By focusing on key factors like conversational and long-tail keywords, local search optimization, mobile-friendliness, and page speed, you can effectively cater to the voice search audience. Implementing strategies such as creating texts, videos, and podcasts that answer specific questions, incorporating structured data and schema markup, and updating and optimizing existing content will help your business remain competitive and visible in this rapidly evolving landscape.

The potential benefits of optimization for enterprises are immense, from attracting customers to improving SERPs' position and staying relevant in the digital age. So embrace the new trend to poise your business for success and capitalize on this growing trend.

If you have any questions or want to considerably save time and money while creating all kinds of marketing texts at scale, don't hesitate to contact Intentful.