Alexa reads us the morning news and tells us how much traffic we can anticipate on our commute into work. Siri informs us of the name of the nearest taco joint and gives us step-by-step directions to get there. Google predicts our inquiries before we can even type more than two letters in the search bar. In today’s world, we are essentially carrying artificial intelligence around with us everywhere we go, and this technology doesn’t seem to be on its way out anytime soon. If you aren’t making the proper adjustments to adapt your website and marketing efforts, your business might be suffering.
Voice Search & Virtual Assistance
Voice search capability via our smartphones and smart-home devices have made searching the web and getting answers to all of our questions significantly more convenient than typing out our query via a web browser. But have you noticed that the way we search differs depending on which medium we use?
When we use voice search or a virtual assistant, we commonly speak in full sentences and phrase our searches as formal questions, as if we are speaking to a real person. Our main goal is to ask a clear and concise question that will give us a response with the most accurate answer on the first shot, which is why we include any details we find necessary.
Alternatively, when we type out our search query manually, we tend to keep it short and sweet, using only the critical keywords needed to produce a results page with relevant links containing what we’re looking for. We have grown to expect the answers to our questions immediately, and the quickest way to get them is to cut down on the time it takes us to get our query submitted.
How A.I. Influences SEO Strategies
So what’s this got to do with your business’s marketing efforts? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) relies on common and trending keywords used by Google users in order to improve your website’s chances of appearing on the front page of search results. If a potential customer is in need of a product or service that you offer, the words that they and other potential buyers are using to find businesses like yours should not only be known to you but included throughout your website.
As an SEO marketing company, our goal is to strategically place these common and trending keywords into as many pages of your website as possible without over-doing it. Why shouldn’t you go crazy with popular search terms when you’re adding content to your website? Google has rules against “keyword stuffing” and will often deliver penalties to businesses whose websites violate their terms. Not only that but bombarding your visitors with excessive keywords can turn them away, as this sort of content feels ingenuine.
Choosing the best keywords and using them strategically throughout your content tells search engines that your website, and ultimately your business, is relevant to those specific search terms and is reliable as an accurate result to similar and related user inquiries. Since we are more detailed and use additional keywords when conducting voice searches, the SEO process is more intricate and must be adjusted and built upon in order to address this change.
Think Outside the Search Box
Ensuring your website includes the right keywords to land you on the front page of Google’s search results is crucial, but there’s more to your website’s content that should be addressed if you want to optimize it more efficiently for voice search technology. When someone asks their virtual assistant a question, for example: “Where is the best coffee in Westminster?”, they will never see an actual results page.
This means they are presented with one initial answer to their question, which is spoken aloud by the smart device. How does Alexa know which coffee shop to suggest? Well, let’s first take the keywords from the question that our virtual assistant utilized to find the result: best, coffee, Westminster. Now, try and guess which one of the two fictitious Westminster coffee shops below has content that is most relevant to those terms, and therefore has a significantly better chance of being picked as the primary result:
Website #2 has relevant keywords, but it’s a bit lacking in variety. This website will likely be among search results for “coffee house Westminster”, but as far as we can see, there’s nothing that tells your virtual assistant that it’s ever been referred to as having the best coffee in Westminster. Therefore, Website #1 is easily the winner here.
Put simply, you must think past typical searches related to your business. Adding concise content that is easily interpreted by your virtual assistant will help push you ahead of your competition and increase your business’s chances of securing the spot as a primary virtual assistant response to related voice searches in your market.
Boost Your Business’s Online Marketing
If we lost you somewhere between “A.I.” and “SEO”, don’t worry. Advantage Internet Marketing is here to answer any of your questions about internet marketing and provides a wide array of services including website design, SEO, blogging, and social media marketing to businesses in Maryland and beyond. Our team of talented digital marketing professionals stays up-to-date on new technologies that affect businesses like yours so that we may consistently be equipped with the best marketing strategies that will guarantee your business’ success. Contact us today to learn more!