How to Optimize Your Content for Natural Language Searches
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, one thing remains clear: SEO is no longer about stuffing your content with a horde of keywords. Today, it's all about natural language search. But what does that mean, and how can you optimize your content for it? Let's dive in.
What is Natural Language Search?
Natural Language Search (NLS) is a type of search query in which users phrase their searches in a conversational manner, similar to how they would speak in day-to-day conversation. This rise in natural language search queries is largely due to the increased use of voice search and digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
Today, instead of typing "best Austin marketing agency," a user might ask, "Who is the best marketing agency in Austin, Texas?" This nuanced shift requires a more sophisticated approach to SEO, one that understands and caters to the complexity of human language.
Natural language searches have become increasingly prevalent due to the rise of voice-enabled devices, and they're not just a trend; they're here to stay. According to Comscore, 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. The statistics are clear: if your content isn't optimized for natural language searches, you're missing out on a massive opportunity.
User intent is the cornerstone of natural language search. It's all about understanding why a user is making a search. Are they looking to make a purchase? Do they want information? Are they trying to find a local business?
Once you understand the intent behind a search, you can craft content that not only answers the user's query but also guides them towards the next step in their customer journey. This could be reading another blog post, signing up for a newsletter, or getting in touch with your business.
Use Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they're closer to the point of purchase or when they're using voice search. They're a little bit counterintuitive, at first, but they can be hugely valuable if you know how to use them.
By incorporating long-tail keywords into your content, you're effectively catering to natural language search queries. These keywords often reflect the conversational tone and phrasing that users employ during voice searches.
When optimizing for natural language search, your content needs to be conversational. This means writing in a way that mirrors how people speak. Conversational writing engages the reader and makes your content more relatable. It also aligns with the tone and phrasing of natural language search queries.
Dr. Peter J. Meyers, a Marketing Scientist at Moz, suggests, "Think about the questions your readers might have, and answer them in a conversational tone. This not only helps with voice search but also makes your content more engaging and easy to understand."
A well-structured piece of content helps search engine bots understand and rank your content. Use headings and subheadings to break up your text, and try to answer potential search queries in these sections. This can increase your chances of appearing in Google's featured snippets, which often provide answers to voice search queries.
Utilize Schema Markup
Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a powerful SEO tool. It helps search engines understand the context and content of your pages, which can improve your visibility in SERPs. It's particularly useful for voice search, as digital assistants often use structured data to answer questions.
By implementing schema markup, you can provide explicit clues about your content that search engines can easily parse, increasing the likelihood of your content being chosen as a voice search response.
Natural language processing (NLP) and natural language understanding (NLU) are vital to this process. NLP, for instance, processes natural language into a format that computers can understand, including tasks like normalization, spelling correction, or stemming. On the other hand, NLU aims to "understand" what a block of natural language is communicating, such as identifying verbs and nouns in sentences or important items within a text.
Since most natural language searches are phrased as questions, it makes sense to include questions (and their answers) in your content. You can do this in your headings, subheadings, or within the body of your text. This can also increase your chances of appearing in voice search results and Google's featured snippets.
Text normalization and letter normalization are also key to optimizing for natural language searches. Text normalization ensures that text is in a standard format no matter where it's coming from, while letter normalization handles variations in letter case. Both techniques can increase the recall of search results, which means the search engine finds results that are known to be good1.
Stay Updated on SEO Best Practices
Finally, the world of SEO is always changing. Stay updated on the latest practices and trends to ensure your content remains optimized for natural language search. Regularly auditing your content and updating it to meet the latest SEO guidelines is an essential part of this process.
At the end of the day, optimizing your content for natural language searches isn't about gaming the system. It's about providing the best possible experience for your users. It's about creating content that is not only searchable and findable but also useful and valuable to your audience.
Wrapping Up
Navigating the shifting sands of SEO can be challenging, especially when it comes to the relatively new field of natural language search. However, with a solid understanding of the principles outlined above and a commitment to creating high-quality, user-centered content, you're well on your way to driving traffic and achieving your business goals.
DuWest Concepts is a full-service marketing agency based in Austin, Texas, dedicated to modernizing the marketing landscape. We understand that the world of marketing is ever-evolving, and we're committed to staying ahead of the curve. Whether it's design, paid marketing, social media marketing, website design and development, event creation, or digital strategy, we've got you covered. This article on optimizing your content for natural language searches is just a glimpse into the expertise we bring to the table. With DuWest Concepts, your business is poised to not only navigate the complex world of SEO but also to thrive in it. Contact us today to learn how we can support your business goals.
