If you’re running an eCommerce store, it’s important to be as visible as you can in search engine results. The higher you rank, the more likely you are to drive some considerable organic traffic to your store.
Remember, you’ll also be dealing largely with people who are already interested in the kind of products you sell. As technology advances, the search is taking on many different forms, and voice search is one of those getting popular.
To make the most of traffic received from Google voice searches, use a theme that simplifies the shopping journey for voice shoppers. With Debutify, you can achieve a site structure that enables shoppers to reach products quickly and head to the checkout.
Download the free Debutify theme to increase conversions from voice shoppers. Here’s a detailed guide on how you can optimize your store for Google Voice search:
One thing to keep in mind is that with voice search, there’s only one result. This means that your eCommerce store optimization has to cover every base so that you can be number one. Start by turning up all the basic ecommerce SEO areas.
Beef Up Security
When it comes to Google search results, secure sites always get priority. Make sure you switch to HTTPS to make it clear that it’s safe for shoppers to submit their personal information.
HTTPS comes with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to handle encryption of bank card details and more. Security alone won’t get you to the top, but without it, you most definitely won’t make it to the number one search result.
Speed Up Your Website
Paste your store’s URL into a usability tool like User Report, Pingdom, or Usability Hub to find out your page load speed and page size. Do away with any unnecessary third-party scripts. Uninstall apps and plugins that are not being used anymore.
Choose a lighter theme for your eCommerce store. Use picture formats that give high quality with low file sizes. Remove background animations and videos that are not important, or have them encoded into lower file size formats.
Adapt To Mobile Devices
If your site performs well on mobile devices, you’re more likely to rank higher in Google search results. Enable Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for your eCommerce store. Create a mobile version of your store with leaner design elements.
Resize CTA buttons to fit the screen width and be above the fold. Use menus that have a simpler vertical list format to limit zooming and scrolling. You can also employ on the same page hyperlinks to easily jump to different sections.
Provide accessible arrows for smooth navigation through slides of images. With a mobile-friendly store, you’re one step closer to the number one spot, considering some shoppers will be using Google Assistant on their phones.
Cater To Long-Tail Keywords
It is common for people to use longer phrases that sometimes take on a question form. Start by researching questions usually associated with the products you sell. A site like answerthepublic.com is a good place to get Google voice search ideas.
You can also try Question Samurai and StoryBase.
Rearrange your page copy and other product-related text to match these questions. For example, a question may go like “What’s the best coffee maker?” or “Which home stereo is number one in sound output?”.
Pay attention to the patterns. For some products, frequent questions may be related to a certain function. In other cases, people may ask about size, durability, price, etc. Get the most descriptive words in those search phrases and fuse them into product names and descriptions.
You can also use Google Trends and the “People also ask” section for some guidance on the most asked questions. Do not leave out in-house sources like your customer helpline and other customer support channels.
These can inform you of other concerns about products like warranty periods, free shipping, return policies, standards certifications, etc. Some may not appear a lot in searches, but as you narrow it down to a type of shoppers or a niche product, they may become more present.
You should also create pages to address FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). These are good for targeting voice searches that may not already be narrowed down to buying a specific product.
Picture a scenario where a customer asks “Which electronics stores support crypto payments?”. Or “Where can I shop using Apple Pay?”. If your FAQ page has links to pages answering questions like “How do I shop using Apple Pay?”, you may get closer to the number one spot.
Leverage YouTube
Create videos that go into topics related to your products. Take advantage of eCommerce video marketing strategies! Carry out some optimization steps like segmenting and naming the video sections, providing a transcript, etc. Make a link to a relevant product page available on the video post. Embed the video on a store page or link to it.
In many searches, a YouTube video is likely to show up as the first result. So while some other stores may be well-optimized for text search, your video may appear higher than that. Another advantage of YouTube videos is that they give you more room to use questions.
You may find your product name getting too clunky or some keywords may not fit naturally into description sections. Make a video with a title like “Is the best toaster on the market?” or “What makes the most durable bike?”. You can do this for YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts.
Here, you can show the audience what features or functionality makes a certain product the best on the market. And in the same instance, you’ll have properly included sizable pieces of a phrase that appears in many searches.
Additionally, squeezing some of these keywords into page copy unnaturally can make your store come off as a dishonest or overly eager salesperson.
Check our guide on "How To Successfully Use YouTube Marketing For Your Shopify Store" and how you can use YouTube marketing for your ecommerce store.
Produce Question-Oriented Content
Just like regular blog posts can help to improve your ranking in search results, they can do the same for voice search, with a few changes. One easy way to tailor your content to voice search is to include popular questions as headings and answer them in the following paragraph.
Try to use conversational language in your text, with brief phrases that resemble those used in voice searches. Avoid complex words in your answer sentences. Keep your word count below 29 words for answers wherever possible.
For example, a shopper may ask “Where can I get a cheap TV?”. An answer that includes “you can get a cheap TV for only ” is short enough and to the point. It also uses very simple language that is quite similar to the question asked.
Add Structured Data
With structured data, you’re using code to tag the various elements on your site pages and give a better context. Use schema markup to show which data is a rating, stock level, etc. Some people may add extra details to their queries when using voice search.
Put more focus on marking up your product pages. When done properly, Google will be able to identify additional pieces of information like price or extra taxes. This brings your listing closer to the top of the question asked and partly relates to some of this information.
Particularly for voice search, you can tag certain parts of a paragraph as answers, and others as questions. You can learn more about using structured data for Google searches here.
Set Up App Actions
Google allows for a shortcut mechanism called App Actions, that can help when optimizing your store for voice search. With an App Action, a user can give Google Assistant a command that includes a name or word related to a particular service, hence quickly getting to that function.
For example, a shopper may say “Hey Google, buy some batteries from ”. Through deep linking, the store’s app can be opened with the relevant page being brought up. To activate App Actions, add an actions.xml file to your Android app project.
This will tell Google which built-in intents are supported by your app. You can find out more about how to set up App Actions here.
Leverage Local Content
In recent times, up to 22% of all voice searches were for getting local information. “Near me” searches also grew by over 130% YoY according to Google. This comes in handy if your store has physical locations or if you use pickup/drop-off points.
List any standout information used in describing the area around your stores. This could be a street name, a popular landmark, or even a slang/nickname used by people in that area. In addition to the “near me” phrase, find ways to incorporate these words into site areas.
These could be title tags, page links, anchor text, and meta descriptions. For instance, you may have anchor text on a page that says “Buy one near you” or “Sony Headphones near me”. The fact that you have a store near a potential customer can be a selling point.
While “near me” may be used mainly by people looking for a physical address to go to while on the move, there may be a different angle. It can also be perceived as someone wanting a store that can deliver a product quickly.
“Near me” or “in ” won’t always translate into “I want to go to the store and pick it up myself”. This means that if you offer same-day delivery on certain goods within specific regions, you should consider optimizing their pages for these searches.
Come up with a list of all the products that can be delivered within the same day, and the areas where that is possible. Do the same for more elaborate and expensive products that often require physical viewing and tours/explanations from an expert.
Make sure you adjust their details to make them more visible to someone searching for local content. Use a theme like Debutify to position your business profile information strategically on store pages.
Download the free Debutify theme and build a store that obtains customer confidence to boost sales.
Utilize The Google My Business Listing
To be more visible in searches for local information, claim your Google My Business listing. Provide an accurate name, address, and phone number. Include your area code in the phone number field.
Consider using your business domain instead of a free Gmail account for your Google My Business login. Fill in the introduction field with some brief information describing the products your store offers. Ensure that you select the right category for your business.
An example is the “Furniture Store” as opposed to “Tables, chairs and beds”. Always remain consistent with the NAP information you fill into other business directories. Any differences could end up hurting your SEO efforts.
For more information on how to drive customer engagement using Google My Business, visit this page.
In Conclusion
Always remember this basic rule: a text search-friendly site is a good foundation for voice search ranking. It is difficult for your store to take up the only spot in voice search results if its basic SEO hasn’t been done right.
With the presence of only one spot, it is also important to optimize like you would for a featured snippet. These have previously made up as much as 41% of voice search results. It is also important to research how different generations use voice assistants.
There are several other factors worth finding out like how many people are using smart speakers, and carrying voice-enabled devices when moving.
Lastly, your ability to craft simple and natural-sounding content based on researched questions is vital. You might also need to invest in a programmer or web developer. This is important for the more technical areas like Schema markups and App Actions.
As always, test out searches using Google Voice services for different questions, phrases, and products to see how well you’re doing. Once you start appearing, make sure your store is set up to convert.
With a theme like Debutify, you can create product pages properly displaying information that wins over a voice shopper. Download Debutify, the highest converting free Shopify theme.
Trisha Ballesteros