Is Your Firm Voice Search Ready? The Basics of Optimizing for Voice Technology
June 2022Is Your Firm Voice Search Ready? The Basics of Optimizing for Voice Technology
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"OK, Google, what law firms are near me?"
Far from just a novelty, voice search has become a part of our daily lives. Many people have digital assistants like the Echo in their homes now, and even our smartphones have built-in voice search capability. With increasing web search traffic coming from voice queries, businesses—especially law firms—need to consider whether they're ready for this sea change.
Optimizing your online presence and marketing for voice search can prove tricky, but it’s worth the effort. When done correctly, you can reach motivated individuals directly and increase the chance of generating qualified leads. Here's what to know.
Know the Different Types of Voice Searches
Before you can make any choices about optimizing your firm's approach to voice search, you must understand the two key categories of voice queries. Each requires a different approach for success.
The first type of voice query is the request for information—someone who wants to know something factual. A good example might be, "can I sue the person who hit me in a car accident?" In these queries, users want to know something about the law. Think of these users as sitting at the top of your funnel. You gain more brand attention if you can get a voice assistant to pull information from your content. The second type to know is the query for service. These requests come much farther down in the funnel and relate to finding a suggestion for legal help locally.
Optimize Your Law Firm's Online Business Listings
There is a limited amount you can do with service requests, but what you can do is improve your firm's online business listings. A detailed Google My Business listing, combined with several highly-rated reviews, boosts your chance of being suggested in a local voice search of nearby law firms. Keep your business listings accurate, up-to-date, and associated with good feedback.
Dedicate Space to Localized Content
Target voice queries in your local area by building FAQ-style content that answers common questions with targeted keywords. Including geolocation keywords in your content while using other effective SEO techniques increases the likelihood that a digital assistant will read answers to queries from your content. Keep the language short, simple, and informative.
Refine Your Website for Speed and Structure
The faster your site loads, the more likely a digital assistant will pull from its page. Just like people, these systems don't like waiting for an answer—so the faster you can serve it up, the better. Behind the scenes, make your website easier for Google to crawl and index using best practices for HTML structures and markup schema. When a voice assistant can quickly find what matches a query, it may choose your content to read out as a response.
Be Voice Search Ready Today
Optimizing your law firm's digital content for voice search can seem daunting at first, but the right approach clears a valuable path to reach a wider audience. At Inherent, we bring an in-depth understanding of search marketing and design to the table for our clients. With a clear understanding of what firms need today to stand out in this new digital space, we can help you chart a course to success. Learn more today.