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What's Google Voice Search Readiness Methodology & Where Businesses Are Failing Most?

Bassem Ghali is a 2-time winner of the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year award and a digital marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience working with companies such as Canadian Tire, Vistaprint, Remax Canada, Alpha Laps, Xplornet, and Toronto Star.


Voice search is here to stay, and it is changing the way SEO works. It is common knowledge that voice search is slowly replacing traditional typing as the primary way to make online queries. While the accuracy of voice recognition software exceeds 95%, it is not the main driving force for most mobile users. Most people tend to use voice search because of the ease it brings to search.
As a digital marketer, you must understand one thing - the digital marketplace is rapidly changing. You need to continually readjust your strategies, or you'll be left behind in the competition. Voice search is the trend of the moment. Not only is it faster than text queries, it is also more convenient and allows users the flexibility to search on the go. 
Despite the popularity of voice search, some digital marketers are still failing in it. Most failures are attributed to not paying attention to voice search readiness. This article will focus on explaining what voice search readiness methodology is and where businesses are getting it wrong.

Check Out Green Lotus Voice Search Optimization Services!

What's Voice Search Readiness?

  You can already tell that voice search readiness is getting your site ready to thrive on voice search from the phrase. 

For a local business, voice search readiness means having accurate business information on the most important directories, including Bing, Yelp, and Google, because they are the major players in fueling voice search assistants. However, for several reasons, certain businesses fail at their voice search readiness methodology. 

Top 3  Reasons Why Businesses  Fail at Google Voice Search Optimization

1- More than 50% of Business Locations Have Incorrect Info on Major Search Engines

A recent study conducted on 100s of business locations found that over half of the business locations analyzed either had missing information or errors on their local profiles. This means that these businesses cannot reach consumers fed by voice search assistants connected major search engines. 

Today, Google & Bing has developed to become one of the most important directories for voice search. However, beyond that, it has also become an essential directory for local search. If you want your brand to rank online for local search queries, both for text and voice, tow platform you can't ignore are Goggle & Bing. 

Recommendations:  The best way to go about this is to complete your profiles across different local search platforms. Completing your business listings with accurate information across platforms like Yelp, Bing, and Google will significantly optimize your business for voice search. 

Having complete and accurate information that's consistent across different directories is an excellent way to indicate to search engines that they can trust your information. This way, you will get a higher chance of topping the list of local voice search queries. 

2- Businesses Managing Their Online Presence Alone

It is expected that businesses have to work with third-party suppliers to get anywhere near the top rank. A 2019 study showed that over 93% of enterprise locations with accurate voice search optimization across directories are doing so with a third-party supplier. The stats are even more revealing when SMBs and mid-markets are included, with 76.5% of voice search ready business locations using a supplier. 

These findings indicate that unless a business adopts the use of third-party suppliers, it may struggle at being voice search or local search ready. 

As expected, we've seen questions from people on whether SMBs, mid-market, and enterprises need to work on optimizing for voice search. 

The truth is that up to 21% of your potential consumers use voice search weekly. 80% of potential customers search online for the local goods and services they may need. If you do not optimize for local search, you might miss out on crucial online searchers interested in your products. 

Recommendations
We usually recommend getting a supplier that can engage the online-to-offline consumer journey.  Businesses must be ready to efficiently manage the business location information they provide across different directories. They must ensure that all the information is relevant for voice and local search. 

This approach gives brands significant control over the transitioning of online searchers into offline buyers. It also allows for a seamless experience among searchers, motivating them to visit your physical location to either make their purchase or make further inquiries about the product.

3- More Locations = More Listings

Let's be clear here - search engines see multiple listings as inaccurate information, and that can be the downfall of your Voice SEO efforts. Statistics show that only 4% of all locations have accurate business information across different platforms. The percentage size means that you are very likely to fall into the category of businesses whose locations have incorrect or missing information online. 

For instance, a business with over 100 locations will need to list over 100 business locations across all three directories to optimize across Google, Yelp, and Bing. 

Multiple locations equal more complexity in management, leading to a higher likelihood of missing information, errors, and inconsistencies. Trying to manage this number of business locations would often mean manually updating hundreds if not thousands of listings. Nobody wants the stress that comes with trying to do these themselves. 

Most brands understand how impossible it is to manage this problem alone, so many of them become more interested in finding out the real value of making listings management a priority. 

Recommendation
The best way to start is to prioritize reviews and listings when drafting your marketing strategy. Note that incorrect online information will have a negative impact on your local search ranking. 

Not finding the correct information about your business can make customers lose trust in you, potentially causing them to leave a negative review about your business. It's not surprising to see that search engines prioritize the accuracy of reviews and business listing information when ranking for local search, considering the impact that information can have on customer experience.


Conclusion
That's it, everything you need to know about voice search readiness methodology. The digital world has since evolved, and unless you make conscious efforts to ready your website for voice search, you may lose potential customers that want speed and convenience in their online search. 

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This means that your online presence needs to be optimized not only for traditional SEO factors but also for these AI-powered summaries. Consider it a competition to become the "featured snippet" for various construction-related searches. If your business consistently provides the most relevant and authoritative information, you'll be well-positioned to capture valuable leads and drive business growth. Check our digital marketing services contractors, construction companies & SEO services home builders Content is King, Context is Queen, and Quality is the Kingdom: In-depth Content: Go beyond basic service descriptions. Toronto residents commonly encounter roofing difficulties, such as leaks and damaged shingles. To acquire confidence and demonstrate your competence, provide high-quality content that addresses these challenges and even more. A guide like "Navigating Your Roofing Options in Toronto" may appeal to your target audience. Alternatively, provide practical advice in an article such as "Top 5 Roofing Problems in Toronto and How to Prevent Them". Focusing on your audience's requirements allows you actually to connect with them. Keyword Optimization: Integrate relevant keywords naturally throughout your content. Use long-tail keywords that show the specific services you offer and the areas you serve. For example, if you provide "custom home building in North York," incorporate this phrase and related variations throughout your website and content. Schema Markup: Schema markup is like a translator between your website and Google's AI. It helps the algorithms understand the context of your content, making it more likely to be included in AI Overviews. Ensure your website uses schema markup to identify your services, location, customer reviews, and other essential information. Elevate Your Google Business Profile: Comprehensive and Accurate Information: Consider your Google Business Profile your digital storefront. It is frequently the first impression a potential consumer receives, so keeping it correct and current is essential. This includes ensuring that your company's name, address, and phone number are accurate. But don't stop there! Include your website, service areas, business hours, and any extra services you offer. A rich and accurate profile enables customers to easily find you and understand what your firm is all about. Visual Storytelling: A picture is worth a thousand words, and high-quality photos and videos can make all the difference in the world of online search. Showcase your completed projects, highlight your team's expertise, and give potential customers a visual tour of your capabilities. Customer Reviews as Social Proof: Encourage satisfied customers to leave detailed and positive reviews on your Google Business Profile. Positive reviews improve your local SEO and enhance your credibility and trustworthiness in AI Overviews. Consider implementing a system for collecting customer feedback and testimonials. Building a Robust Online Presence: Local Citations for Authority: Consider local citations virtual "votes of confidence" for your business. Ensure your business information is consistently listed across relevant online directories and platforms, including industry-specific directories, local business associations, and general online directories. Backlinks as Trust Signals: Boost your website's authority with high-quality backlinks. Think of backlinks as a much-needed vote of confidence from other websites. When reputable sites in the construction industry, such as suppliers, associations, or even local news outlets, link to yours, it signals to Google that your content is valuable. This increases your website's trustworthiness and improves its search ranking. 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You can gain a competitive edge in your market by embracing these technologies. Sales Automation for Lead Nurturing: Use sales automation solutions to improve lead generation and customer relationship management procedures. This can help you generate more leads, build stronger relationships, and convert prospects into paying clients. Real-World Applications for Construction Businesses: Consider a Toronto-based construction company specializing in historic building restoration. By creating in-depth content on topics like "heritage home preservation techniques" or "restoring Victorian architecture in Ontario" and optimizing their Google Business Profile with relevant keywords, images, and customer reviews, they can increase their chances of being featured in AI Overviews for related searches.
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