Is Your Content Ready for Voice Search? It Needs To Be.

Ahava Leibtag, president and owner, Aha Media Group

“Soon, if your household doesn’t have a voice assistant, you’ll be in the minority,” says Ahava Leibtag, president and owner of Aha Media Group. “NPR reports that 14 million people in the U.S. got their first smart speaker device in 2018.”

Leibtag says healthcare websites need voice-optimized health content now more than ever. Here’s an excerpt from her new article for us:

If you’ve ever had a treadmill that turned into a clothes rack, you know that owning is not the same as using. Is voice search here to stay?

Well, dependence on these devices is certainly rising: 52 percent of all smart-speaker owners report using their device daily.

Health-related voice searches are on the rise, too. In 2018, Yext found that people using health-related voice searches were seeking:

• Urgent care locations (55 percent)
• Doctor’s office locations (44 percent)
• Pharmacy locations (36 percent)
• Medication reminders (53 percent)
• Online appointment scheduling (43 percent)
• Accepted insurance plans (43 percent)

If your health content isn’t voice search-friendly, you’ve fallen behind the pack.

But you can catch up — and it’s not as overwhelming a task as you might think. Getting your content voice search ready involves tweaks and adjustments rather than a complete overhaul.

The key to voice search optimization is using conversational language. Searches often feature fully formed sentences instead of shorthand, as if speaking with another person.

For example, instead of typing “orthopedic surgeon near me” into a search engine, ask your voice assistant: “Who is the best orthopedic surgeon in the city for knee repairs, and where is the surgeon’s office?” There’s more context and nuance in the voice search.

Read the full article now: The Future Is Here: Why Your Health Content Should Be Ready for Voice Search

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President