The future is vocal - optimising your website for voice search success

How often do you speak rather than type into your phone these days?

If you’re anything like me, you now do the vast majority of your texts and searches using verbal commands.

And you’re not alone. It’s estimated that at the time of writing, 50% of all online searches are voice-based, with the biggest growth among millennials and GenZ.

But what does this mean for your business and the visibility of your website on the search engines?

In this article, I explore

• how voice search is different
• how to optimise your website for voice search
• why everything and nothing has changed

How voice search is different

3 things quickly sum up the voice search difference.

1. Longer and more conversational
2. Local dominance (near me)
3.  Suits AI-generated results

Let’s explore each of these

1 Longer, more conversational search

Voice searches are longer and more conversational.

For example

A traditional search might be ‘commercial architect Sydney’.

But a voice search might be ‘Siri/ Hey Google, get me a list of good commercial architects near me.‘

And, of course, if the search is in ChatGPT or similar, the chat will continue.‘ What’s the best way to choose between these firms?’ or ‘Give me a summary of each company, including customer reviews.’

2 Local Dominance

At Brilliant Digital, we’ve closely monitored Google demand data and Search Console results for hundreds of Australian business websites for over 15 years.

The trend towards ‘near me’ searches is quite simply huge and continues to increase.

More on optimising for local search later in this article.

3 Suits AI-generated results

The trend towards longer, more conversational questions favours AI-generated search results. 

So, instead of seeing a simple list of Websites like on a traditional Google search results page, the AI-generated search result is a summary of many websites.

This potentially saves the searcher the time of doing their own research.

Many searchers are also starting to use language model chatbots like ChatGPT in place of search engines like Google – especially when they are looking for how-to information or doing any kind of research online.

This is a trend that will continue as search fractures and people use their own mixture of favourite search options.

Optimising your website for voice search

Clearly, it’s crucial to optimise your website for voice search.

Here are the most important action items.

Write as if you are having a conversation with your market. 

This is crucial.

If your content is written by a chatbot, it will be flat and unappealing.

Instead, make sure a human writes your content with emotion, feeling and originality. The copy should ‘talk’ in a voice that will engage your market, answer their questions and make them feel a positive connection with your business.

Answer your markets’ FAQs 

Answering your customers frequently asked questions in a conversational way is a great way to optimise your website for voice search.

Your sales and customer service teams are a superb resource to tap. They are on the front line and know exactly where your clients’ pain points are.

We also use Search Console data to understand where we are winning and missing out – the data then informs our content strategy.

Structure your content

Break up your content with headlines, concise answers, bullet points and summaries.

This makes it much easier for chatbots and search engines to find and feature your website.

Prioritise local SEO

You need to prioritise local SEO, ensuring your business information (name, address, phone number) is consistent across your website and all online platforms, including social media and Google business profile.

Has everything or nothing changed?

Does everything above sound very familiar?

If this sounds like old news… it is, in a way.

We’ve been successfully optimising websites for search since 2008 generating millions of dollars of business for our clients every year.

Over the years, websites have become much more sophisticated with massive advances in design, flexibility and user experience.

But the basic premise of putting helpful content on your website is the same as it’s always been.

And the answer to optimising for voice search is the same as it’s always been.

Stand strong in who you are as a business.

Build a fantastic, search-optimised website that represents you.

Consistently add well-structured, original, conversational content to your website.

Measure the results and strategise regularly.

And watch your digital footprint, leads and sales grow.

Meet the author

I’m Deb Croucher, a former veterinary surgeon with a passion for digital marketing.

In 2008, I permanently traded my stethoscope for websites, marketing and communications after successfully leveraging Google to power my vet business.

Diagnosis and treatment is still part of my day though.

In Brilliant Digital I identify issues, uncover opportunities and formulate strategies that lead to success and longevity.

You can read more digital marketing articles here or feel free to drop me a line.