“Hey Siri…Who is Zilker Media?”

When asking this question, Siri might pull up what is listed in the image below.

If you are using Siri, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Google Home or Apple HomePod, you are one of many utilizing voice search. Voice activated technology allow consumers to speak their queries into a device versus typing them into a search engine like Google. This technology has become so integrated in everyday life for many, Google’s CEO shared that voice search now accounts for one-fifth of Google’s queries.

Why is voice search increasing in popularity? To put it simply — it’s convenient for consumers. It allows for multitasking, provides instant gratification and increases the speed of the search process. Voice command devices have increased in popularity since voice technology hit the market in 2008. Traditionally, individuals and companies were able to dominate the SEO space by optimizing their website with keyword rich text and strategic plugins. Due to its growing increase in use, Google is now placing an emphasis on voice SEO. Now individuals and companies must choose to also optimize their websites to be discoverable on voice search as well. This is harder said than done…no pun intended.

The same tips and tricks we’ve used to traditionally optimize a website do not work for voice SEO and vice versa. So how do you ensure you are discoverable in the world of voice search? Below we’ve shared three ways you can optimize your website for voice SEO.

1. Craft content in a conversational tone

In addition to the concise keyword phrases we’ve used traditionally to optimize websites, focus on how someone would phrase a search query when speaking. The key is to think through how your audience speaks about your business, services or products. Traditionally someone might type in Google “voice SEO tips.” If they are searching through a virtual assistant on their mobile device their question might be phrased, “Who can help me with voice SEO?” To generate optimized questions that are most often used, we recommend using a tool called Answer the Public. This tool will generate optimized questions for search based on the keywords you enter into their system. For example, when typing the keywords “voice search,” Answer the Public generated the results below.

2. Focus strategy on your FAQ website page

The FAQ page on your website is more important than ever when it comes to voice SEO. Use common questions that populate for your search on Answer the Public as the header for each question on your FAQ page. When crafting questions, anticipate the way they would be asked in a conversational phrase. Answer your question below the header using clear and concise language. The key is to explicitly answer the question as if you were optimizing for Google’s Featured Snippets which is often where many devices pull answers to voice queries from.

3. Reduce your website load time

Google voice search ranks websites that load quickly higher in their algorithm. It should take no longer than three seconds to load anything that is visible to the eye on a landing page. To help reduce load time, ensure any media on your website such as video or photos are compressed and optimized. It’s also important to keep your website responsive and use strategies such website caching to improve speed.