Story Based Question
You’re working as an SEO expert for an online clothing store. The company has always focused on optimizing for traditional text-based search keywords like “best winter jackets” and “affordable jeans for women.” However, recently, you’ve noticed a growing number of customers using voice search on their devices, asking more conversational questions like “What are the best jackets for winter?” or “Where can I find affordable women’s jeans?” You realize that these voice search queries don’t always match the traditional text-based keywords you’ve been targeting.
Your team asks: “How do we resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional text-based keywords?”
This leads to the key question: How do you resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional text-based keywords?
Exact Answer
To resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional text-based keywords, adapt your content to include both conversational, long-tail phrases and the more concise, targeted keywords. Balance keyword usage to align with both types of queries while focusing on natural language and user intent.
Explanation
Voice search queries are often longer and more conversational than traditional text-based keywords. They tend to reflect how people speak, rather than how they type. This creates a challenge when your content is optimized solely for text-based keywords. Resolving these conflicts involves balancing both types of keywords and aligning your content with the intent behind each type of search. Here’s how to do it:
- Incorporate Long-Tail, Conversational Phrases
Voice search queries are often phrased like a conversation. For example, a person might ask, “What are the best jackets for winter?” instead of typing “best winter jackets.” By incorporating these longer, natural phrases (long-tail keywords) into your content, you can capture voice search traffic.- Action: Include phrases in your product descriptions or blog content like, “What are the best jackets for winter?” or “Where can I find affordable women’s jeans?” alongside your more concise, traditional keywords like “best winter jackets” and “affordable women’s jeans.”
- Match Intent Behind Queries
Traditional keywords focus on search terms, while voice searches often reflect the intent behind the query. Voice search is more about answering questions directly and providing solutions.- Action: Ensure that your content answers specific questions. For example, someone asking, “What are the best jackets for winter?” may be looking for product recommendations, so your content should directly answer this by listing the top jackets, rather than just focusing on the keyword “best winter jackets.” This matches the intent behind voice search queries and resolves the conflict with traditional keywords.
- Use Natural Language and Structured Answers
Voice search favors content that is more natural and easy to digest. Providing clear, structured answers that mimic conversational language can help resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional text-based keywords.- Action: When optimizing for both types of queries, structure your content with bullet points, headings, or FAQs that answer common voice search questions. For example, if someone asks, “What’s the best winter jacket for cold weather?”, provide a clear, concise answer with a list of options that also include the traditional keyword “winter jackets.”
- Leverage Featured Snippets for Both Types of Queries
Voice assistants often pull information from featured snippets. By targeting both long-tail voice search queries and more traditional keywords in the same content, you increase your chances of appearing in featured snippets for both.- Action: Write content in a way that answers questions directly and in a structured format. For example, for a voice search query like “Where can I find affordable women’s jeans?”, you might create a section of your page or blog that directly answers this, while still including the concise keyword “affordable women’s jeans” in other parts of the content.
Example
Imagine your e-commerce store sells a variety of jackets. Here’s how you can resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional keywords:
Step 1: Incorporate Long-Tail, Conversational Phrases
You’re targeting both voice search and traditional search queries. A voice search query might be, “What are the best jackets for winter?”
- Action: In your content, you add conversational phrases like, “If you’re looking for the best jackets for winter, check out these top options.” You also keep traditional keywords like “best winter jackets.” This way, you’re optimizing for both types of queries.
Step 2: Match Intent Behind Queries
A traditional keyword like “affordable women’s jeans” is targeted, but a voice search query might be more specific, like “Where can I find affordable women’s jeans?”
- Action: You create content that answers the voice query directly, like, “You can find affordable women’s jeans at our online store, with a range of styles under $50.” At the same time, you keep traditional keywords like “affordable women’s jeans” sprinkled throughout the content for SEO purposes.
Step 3: Use Natural Language and Structured Answers
For a voice query such as, “What is the best jacket for cold weather?”, you need to ensure your content reads naturally and answers the question directly.
- Action: You create a list of top jackets, like this:
- “Our top pick for cold weather is the [Brand] winter jacket, designed to keep you warm in sub-zero temperatures.”
You also include concise keywords, like “best cold weather jacket,” within the same content.
- “Our top pick for cold weather is the [Brand] winter jacket, designed to keep you warm in sub-zero temperatures.”
Step 4: Leverage Featured Snippets
For the voice search query, “Where can I buy affordable women’s jeans near me?”, Google may pull information from featured snippets.
- Action: You ensure your page is structured in a way that makes it eligible for a featured snippet by answering the question directly with a clear response like, “You can buy affordable women’s jeans at our store in [city], or order online with free shipping.” This answer fits the voice search style while keeping traditional keywords like “affordable women’s jeans.”
To resolve conflicts between voice search queries and traditional text-based keywords, you need to balance both types in your content. By integrating long-tail, conversational phrases, understanding user intent, and using structured, natural language answers, you can optimize for both voice search and traditional SEO. This will help you capture traffic from both types of searches.