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Calgary Voice Search: How to Optimize Your Website for Voice Search

What is Calgary Voice Search?

Calgary voice search is defined as “a speech recognition technology that allows users to search by saying terms aloud rather than typing them into a search field.”

For the purpose of this article, we are going to be focusing on how users can utilize Calgary voice search to discover local businesses and services!
Technology:
Smartphones, tablets and other web-enabled devices have made Calgary voice search a popular technology. Some of the most notable technologies are Apple’s Siri, Google’s Home Hub, and Amazon’s Alexa. Each of these services uses a different search engine to curate their search results. That means it is essential that your business is listed on a variety of search engines
How is Voice Search Changing SEO?
The way that people are searching is changing how they are searching for products. It has changed the way that they conduct queries thus changing the way you optimize your website. Keep these key Calgary voice search features in mind when optimizing pages on your website:

Longer Queries: People that voice search tends to use longer queries. This is because they are searching in a conversational tone rather than entering a single keyword. That means you should be focusing on long tail keywords or questions.

Posed as Questions: When people use voice search, they are generally posing questions. Consider what your demographic would be asking in relation to your products and services and then optimize your website to rank for those question-based queries. This will allow you to become a valued resource.

Local SEO: Concentrate on Local SEO when optimizing your website for voice search. A large percentage of customers are searching for local business near them. For example, they would search using the query “Coffee shop near me.” etc. If you want to gain the top spot focus on optimizing your website for local SEO.

Importance of the Top Spot: When it comes to voice search, having the top spot is vital. That is because the user is not scrolling the first page of results. Google or Alexa will simply relay the information that is registering in the top spot to the user. That means brands aren’t competing for the front page anymore, they’re optimizing for the top spot!

Featured Snippets: Voice search leans heavily on featured snippets. A featured snippet is defined as “A summary of an answer to a user’s query, which is displayed on top of Google search results. It’s extracted from a webpage and includes the page’s title and URL.”. The snippet comes in several forms from paragraph to table and list. Featured snippets are important because they will increase traffic on your website and put you ahead of the competition. Lastly, featured snippets will give you an authority in your field!
Adopting a Voice Search Strategy:
Remain relevant and stay competitive by following these 5 steps! Here’s how to get started:

Get Listed: Make sure you are listing your business on all relevant search engines! Some of the most common are Google, Bing, Yelp and Yellow Pages. Listing yourself on these sites will give you an authoritative presence and it will make it easier for consumers and search engines to locate your business online.

Business Reviews: Leveraging positive reviews is essential for a high search engine ranking. A common queries people use is “Best }[BLANK] near me.”. If you have a high ranking, the chances of you appearing in results are much higher!

Optimize Key Phrases/Questions: Focus on answering FAQ’s in your content if you want to rank for voice search. Like we discussed earlier, many voice search queries are questions! Keep this in mind when optimizing your content.

Mobile-Friendly: Mobile friendly websites appear higher in search engine results. Increasing your mobile load speed will also benefit you!

Featured Snippets: Focus on creating keyword driven content that answers questions! This will give you a better chance of gaining authority and becoming featured snippet.

If you’re ready to optimize your website for Calgary voice search, we can help. Click HERE to learn more.