Gartner, a tech research company, has predicted that 30% of the world’s search will be conducted without a screen by 2020.
Will your website be ready for this high-growth trend?
In many ways, the developers of virtual assistants are comparable to the developers who created the internet’s first web browsers. There’s a mad dash to be first; to be relevant; to be popular.
You might be no stranger to virtual assistants.
For example, there’s Hey Siri for Apple phone users and Okay Google for Android phone users.
We also have in-home assistants that include:
- Amazon Alexa (most popular)
- Google Home
For consumers, assistants have their place by providing us with answers to some pressing questions.
For example, what will the weather be today? Or, why do men have affairs?
Beyond providing us with answers, virtual assistants also help with:
- Making Calls
- Setting Appointments
- Scheduling Reminders
… and, the topic of this article: conducting virtual searches.
What does voice search mean to resume writers like you and me?
To begin with, voice search will change where our site’s traffic comes from.
Chances are your Google Analytics stats currently look something like this:
The bulk of your traffic is generated from a desktop with the remaining traffic from mobile and tablet.
For most resume writers, stats look similar to the above.
We Need The Eyes & The Interest
In the next few months, we’ll see mobile dominate our site’s source of devices as our traffic continues to originate from voice search.
As resume writers, we’ve relied on people searching Google using a search string we rank for and then clicking over to our websites.
That’s how resume writers still acquire most prospects and clients.
But, there’s a change on the horizon …
As voice search increases and traditional (typed) browser searches decline, this is expected to negatively affect the ROI of our businesses.
In fact, marketing experts are already predicting voice search will convert less.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Voice is expected to convert less until marketers figure out how to make it profitable.
The decreased conversions will result in part by preoccupied searchers.
We’ve all seen the commercials of people in the middle of “something,” conducting a voice search using their Google Home or Amazon Echo.
But wait…
Hope on The Horizon
Despite some wanting us to believe the voice search is taking over the world, they are overlooking something very important: desktop usage is remaining steady.
Yes, my friends. From Google and Facebook to your area insurance carrier and bank, desktop computers are everywhere.
Could you imagine writing a resume or a LinkedIn profile using only your phone?
Sure, it’s doable.
But, typing on a small screen sucks.
And despite voice-activated typing, most smartphone (and tablet) users avoid the feature or shut it off.
4 Voice Search Opportunities For Early Adopters
Despite this bit of optimism, resume writers need to prepare their websites and safeguard their businesses for this changing tide of search.
Here are 4 opportunities to make your website “voice ready”:
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR SITE FOR VOICE SEARCH
1. Get your business found for “near me” voice queries.
For now, voice search is used to find and learn more about local services, including restaurants and insurance carriers.
Voice queries such as these show intent to buy, and generally have vicinities tied to them.
But, we’re not restaurants and insurance carriers are we, so how do we optimize our sites for “near me” queries?
For starters, ensure your resume business is listed in Google Maps.
Here’s where you can get your business listed for free on Google Maps.
Another resource for boosting your local presence is to use Yoast SEO Local, which tells Google more about your business; e.g. location, hours of operation, and so on.
2. Prepare your content for long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords have been pursued in recent years as competition for shorter keywords become impossible to rank for.
These longer keyword strings bring promise. For example, there are opportunities for:
- More finetuned traffic
- Better conversion rates
- Fewer competitors
Writing content that taps longer keywords are not only good for voice search but also as part of your overall SEO plan.
3. Know your ideal client — and write for them
Boosting traffic from voice search can also be done by identifying and writing aggressively for your ideal client.
I recently worked with a fellow resume writer who is focused on working with STEM clients.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
There’s a great opportunity for this colleague because few in our industry have niched their businesses … let along niched them to STEM clients.
4. Frame your blog posts to answer questions
Let’s say someone does a voice search that goes something like this:
“Okay Google, how can I improve my resume before I start a new job search?”
Notice how this question includes more descriptors and is more conversational.
Having a resource on your site that best answers questions like these will help get your site found with voice search.
Using longer keyword strings on our website will help improve our success with voice-recognition devices.
