How to optimise your ecommerce site for voice search
June 15, 2023
Voice search is rapidly gaining popularity among consumers.
With the rise of voice-enabled devices like smartphones, smart speakers, and virtual assistants, optimising your ecommerce website for voice search has become crucial. By adapting your online store to cater to voice search queries, you can enhance user experience, boost visibility, and drive more conversions.
Let’s take a look at some tips and best practices to help you optimise your ecommerce website for voice search.
How does voice search differ from traditional SEO?
Most marketers or business owners are familiar with search engine optimisation and the SEO techniques that are used for achieving higher rankings in search engine results pages. While there are a number of overlaps between on-page search optimisation and voice search optimisation, there are some fundamental differences that makes voice search unique.
Voice search queries tend to be more conversational. For example, you may ask a virtual assistant “What are some good restaurants near me?”, whereas a text-based search would be more to the point, like “restaurants near me.”
Fortunately, you don’t need to radically overhaul your existing SEO strategy to capture voice search traffic. Below we’ve outlined specific optimisations that can be applied to your website to ensure you’re capitalising on voice search trends.
Understanding voice search & user intent
To optimise your ecommerce website for voice search, it’s vital to understand how users interact with voice-enabled devices. Voice searches are typically longer compared to traditional text-based searches. Retailers should focus on capturing the user’s intent by targeting long-tail keywords and creating content that answers specific questions. Research common voice search queries related to your products or industry to gain insights into user behavior.
Website content optimisations
Natural language
Voice search queries often mimic natural conversation. Hence, your website’s content should be conversational, concise, and easy to understand. Develop content that answers frequently asked questions and addresses user pain points. This is important for both traditional SEO and voice search, as well as branding – the type of language you use impacts how customers view and relate to your business.
Long-tail keywords
Incorporate long-tail keywords into your website’s content, product descriptions, and meta tags. Consider using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to identify relevant long-tail keywords that align with user intent.
Featured snippets
Structure your content to increase the chances of appearing in featured snippets, which are often read aloud by virtual assistants. Use headings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs to make your content more scannable and easily extractable by search engines.
Technical optimisations
Mobile responsiveness
Ensure your ecommerce website is mobile-friendly and responsive across devices. Voice searches are predominantly conducted on smartphones, so a seamless mobile experience is critical.
Site speed
Optimise your website’s loading speed to deliver a smooth user experience. A slow-loading website can lead to higher bounce rates, affecting your search rankings and user satisfaction.
Schema markup
Implement structured data markup, such as Schema.org, to provide search engines with detailed information about your products, including price, availability, ratings, and reviews. This helps search engines better understand and display your content in voice search results.
Local SEO optimisation
Local business listings
If you have physical store locations, ensure they are listed accurately on popular directories like Google My Business. Optimise your listings with relevant keywords, business descriptions, opening hours, and customer reviews to improve your chances of appearing in local voice search results.
Location-specific content
Create location-specific content on your website, such as blog posts or landing pages, to target local voice search queries. Incorporate location-based keywords and address frequently asked questions related to your store’s location.
Voice commerce integration
Voice shopping experience
Enhance your ecommerce website’s voice shopping capabilities. Allow users to add items to their shopping carts, complete purchases, and track orders using voice commands. Streamline the checkout process to make it seamless and user-friendly.
Voice app integration
Explore integrating your ecommerce store with popular voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. This can enhance the overall voice shopping experience for your customers and improve brand visibility.
Continuous analysis and optimisation
Monitor voice search performance
Regularly analyse your website’s voice search performance using tools like Google Analytics. Identify trends, popular queries, and user behavior to refine your voice search optimisation strategy.
User feedback
Gather feedback from your customers regarding their experience with voice search on your website. Incorporate their suggestions and insights into your optimisation efforts to enhance the user journey.
Not sure where to begin? We can help. Get in touch and we’ll see how we can help drive your brand’s SEO strategy to success.
