How can you optimize your content for voice or conversational search? Take a look at actionable steps to not only identify queries opportunities but to optimize and expand your content to become the google assistant answer.
5. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Which has its own issues
@aleyda#voicesearch at #smxlondon
https://twitter.com/JeffD/status/1129428397644345344
6. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Are we really doomed by voice though?
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
7. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
How many of you actually search via voice?
@aleyda
https://twitter.com/aleyda/status/1129321327293292544
#voicesearch at #smxlondon
8. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Surprise, surprise!
https://twitter.com/aleyda/status/1129321327293292544
9. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
People are using voice but mostly for some
type of simple action driven queries
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/voice-assistance-parent-users/
10. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Most of assistants requests at the moment are for
to-dos, managing the calendar, doing simple tasks
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/voice-assistance-parent-users/
12. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
A high share of queries
require a visual output
to satisfy users,
especially in the decision
making process
13. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Google also don’t think everything will shift to voice as
half of the assistant interactions are of voice + touch
https://www.blog.google/perspectives/scott-huffman/five-insights-voice-technology/
14. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
That’s the reason why we now have smart displays too
https://www.blog.google/products/assistant/first-smart-displays-google-assistant-are-now-available-stores/
15. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
So, no. Voice is not going to kill SEO!
https://uberall.com/en/blog/2019/1-in-5-people-using-voice-search-every-week
16. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Voice is an aspect of a new conversational
search context that SEO needs to leverage though
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/voice-assistance-parent-users/
17. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Welcome to the voice conversational search era
driven by the Google Assistant
19. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
“How can you identify conversational
queries to target with your site content?”
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
20. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
They are full questions, asked in natural language
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/
21. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
People are now using the search assistants
as personal advisors
Conversational First Person Immediate
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/personal-needs-search-trends/
22. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
For real
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/personal-needs-search-trends/
23. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Sad but shockingly true
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/personal-needs-search-trends/
24. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/google-home-complete-list-of-commands/
Check the assistants’ voice commands
to identify query patterns to look for
25. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
What When Who
Where Why How
Most are informational queries,
starting with the 6Ws
26. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Google Search Console
Go through your
existing search
queries looking for
these initial
questions patterns
28. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Expand your top queries with those of your main
competitors including these questions patterns
sistrix, semrush, ahrefs
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
29. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Look for Google’s
related keywords
and suggestions
keywords everywhere
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
30. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Do a keyword
research focused
on questions
based on all of
these to identify
opportunities
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
sistrix, semrush, ahrefs
31. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
"How can you optimize your content
for these conversational queries?”
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
35. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Featured snippets are then shown for more complex
questions, which are also usually used by the assistant
36. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Featured snippets are then shown for more complex
questions, which are also usually used by the assistant
“40.7% of all voice search answers came
from a Featured Snippet.”
37. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
SERP Features should be
positive for your pages CTR if
you optimize them well
https://dixonjones.com/seo/structured-data-a-dirty-little-secret/
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
38. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Questions, prepositions, and comparisons
dominate featured snippet results
Questions
52.57%
Prepositions
33.65%
Comparisons
28.64%
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-earn-google-featured-snippets-mobile-study/
39. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
These are usually targeted by FAQ, guides, resources
addressing informational queries in the customer journey
40. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Although we can also find a few commercially
driven queries triggering features snippets too
41. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-earn-google-featured-snippets-mobile-study/
The featured pages need to be already ranking well
42. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-earn-google-featured-snippets-mobile-study/
The content should be organized in paragraphs,
lists or tables of certain length based on their type
43. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-earn-google-featured-snippets-mobile-study/
It should be well structured, easy to read content,
featured in a secure, mobile friendly, optimised page
44. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Take also into consideration the criteria used by the
Google Assistant to evaluate speech results quality
https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/12/evaluation-of-speech-for-google.html
45. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/12/evaluation-of-speech-for-google.html
It’s not only about information satisfaction but also
length, formulation & potential elocution of your content
46. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/12/evaluation-of-speech-for-google.html
“usefulness of the
response, and for
audio responses, the
quality of the speech”
47. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Use also the “how-to”
structured data for rich
results in mobile SERPs
and generate “how to”
actions for the Google
assistant
https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/05/new-in-structured-data-faq-and-how-to.html
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
50. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
If you’re an eligible US news site you can use the
speakable structured data to specify your content
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/speakable
51. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Like SERoundtable is doing here
https://www.seroundtable.com/listen-to-google-speakable-markup-in-action-26169.html
52. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Follow the speakable structured
data guidelines to make your
content “speech ready” too
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/speakable
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
53. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Use the previous criteria to optimize content to be
concise, easy to read aloud, and well structured
54. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Besides headings and descriptive images,
you can use lists & tables when relevant too
55. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Google selects the best structured & concise content
of the page that specifically answers the query
56. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Check which of your identified queries trigger featured
snippets and format your targeted content accordingly
ahrefs, semrush
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
57. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
“How can you monitor your Website
results for conversational queries?”
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
58. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
You can check if your site and competitors are
already shown in them for which query and page
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
ahrefs, semrush, ahrefs
59. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Follow-up by using
your own rank tracking
software, besides
ranking indexes, for
your critically targeted
queries
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
seomonitor
60. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Verify if these are featured in the Google’s
Assistant results through the mobile app too
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/7172657
61. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Assess their impact to identify and expand the best
performing queries also from a conversion perspective
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
seomonitor
62. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
It should be a win-win scenario for voice
answers and additional SERP visibility!
63. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
“How can you expand your site presence
with the Google Assistant with Actions?”
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
64. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
The assistant doesn’t
only use Websites
content but also
Google Actions for
answers…
65. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Actions are conversational
applications that can be
triggered via the Google
Assistant directly or
through a matching intent
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://developers.google.com/actions/extending-the-assistant
66. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Check the existing actions in your
sector with the Assistant Directory
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://assistant.google.com/explore
68. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
You can build one to
expand the distribution
of your site content as
well as complement its
functionality
69. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Google highly
facilitates Actions
development with
Actions Console
Projects
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://console.actions.google.com/
70. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Providing the
option to build
actions without
coding by using
templates too
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://developers.google.com/actions/templates/
71. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
You can create
trivia, quizzes,
flash cards and
how-tos using
templates
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://developers.google.com/actions/templates/
72. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Like I did here, taking into consideration the simpler,
action driven requests made through voice
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
http://whymywebtrafficdropped.com/
74. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
The Actions assistant will take you through the
different Actions development steps in the console
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://console.actions.google.com/
75. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Giving the option to build the action by using whether
Diagoflow or with the Google Docs based templates
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://developers.google.com/actions/templates/
76. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
https://console.actions.google.com/
Allowing to
specify, design, as
well as test your
Action content,
including how it
will be invoked
77. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
Actions can expand your
voice discoverability,
allowing you to better
understand your users
voice behavior too,
giving you a competitive
advantage
79. #voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda
…it’s an opportunity to better address your audience
conversational behavior and grow accordingly!
80. * SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti
* SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries
* Crawling Mondays Host
* Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.”
* Blogger in Search Engine Land & Search Engine Journal
* Featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post
* European Search Personality of 2018
Thank you
#voicesearch at #smxlondon @aleyda