Voice search is slowly becoming less of a novelty and more of daily practice for most Americans. Whether you’re asking Alexa to start the music, having Siri pull up directions, or setting a reminder with Google Assistant, voice-activated devices have become a normal part of our everyday lives.
For businesses, this rise in popularity means a shift in SEO strategy that includes voice search. When people ask their digital assistant to find “the best chiropractor in [city name]” or “chiropractors near me”, you want to make sure your practice is front and center in those results.
We’ve compiled this comprehensive list of voice search tips for chiropractors to help you build a comprehensive voice search strategy that will help you take advantage of this emerging sector in digital marketing.
Voice Search Trends and Patterns
Not convinced? We understand the skepticism, especially if you don’t use a digital assistant yourself. But while voice search won’t be outperforming traditional search anytime in the near future, you should take the time to educate yourself about the significant growth the sector has seen over the last five years alone.
Popularity
In 2021, 122.7 million Americans used voice search in some form or fashion. Of those who use voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, 58% used them to find local businesses online. That means that over 61 million Americans were using voice search to find and contact local businesses.
Currently, nearly 25% of Americans prefer voice assistants over traditional smartphone and web searches. Amazon (creator of Alexa), predicts that this number will increase to 40% over the next year alone. And as technology advances and becomes even more convenient, we only expect the numbers to continue to rise. You can’t afford to leave your business out of those results.
Snippets
Of all the voice searches made last year, more than 40% of the results were pulled from featured snippets. Snippets are the boxed result that appears at the top of the Google results. They are usually pulled in response to direct questions and contain direct answers
For instance, if you asked, “What chiropractic adjustments help neck pain the most?” you’d likely receive a featured snippet of information about cervical manipulation from WebMD, Everyday Health, or another chiropractor’s website
If at all possible, you want to ensure that your site is the one offering snippet information. This is where intensive keyword research and understanding your target audience come into play. Think about the questions people are asking before they research specific chiropractors’ offices. Search terms like “back pain”, “neck injury”, and “do spine adjustments hurt?” are all items for which you should be writing and optimizing.
Spending Trends
- Worldwide, it is predicted that the sale of smart speakers alone will exceed $30 billion by 2024.
- 55% of American households will own at least one smart speaker by the end of 2022.
- Voice-based shopping will account for $40 billion in spending worldwide in 2022.
The Digital Assistants to Optimize For
There are several voice assistants to choose from when it comes to optimization. There are four major players in the voice search field (see below), as well as several off-brand voice assistants. Remember that, while they serve similar functions, each of the voice assistants runs on different software and algorithms and pulls answers from different places.
When we discuss voice search tips for chiropractors, one of the most important tips we can offer is to optimize for the assistants that are being used by your target audience. So look into your demographics and make sure you have a clear understanding of your patient base before you start your voice optimization strategy.
Once you have a grasp on your target audience, read through the list of assistants below and choose the best optimization strategies for your practice.
Google Assistant
Google offers the widest range of voice-based technology in the market. Their “Google Assistant” can be found in Android phones, Google Minis, Google Homes, and Nest security systems and devices.
Unsurprisingly, Google Assistant pulls its information directly from Google products. When you ask for directions, it pulls from Google Maps. When you ask for a business “near me”, it pulls from Google My Business listings.
This means that optimizing for Google Assistant is relatively easy and straightforward. Just work on filling out and maintaining your Google My Business profile as much as possible:
- Make sure all information is current and correct
- Verify your practice’s listing
- Upload photos and videos of your facility, staff, and exam rooms (keep it HIPAA compliant!)
- Completely fill out the menu and services sections
- Create and answer FAQs for the Q&A section
- Enable direct messaging (make sure you have someone designated to monitor and respond!)
- Link your Google My Business account to your Google Ads account
- Monitor and respond to all reviews
Siri
Siri is Apple’s voice assistant and one of the most popular. She is used in iPhones, Apple smartwatches, iPads, and Apple computers. Siri is a little more complicated to optimize for because she pulls information from multiple sources.
Even though Apple owns the Safari browser, Siri actually pulls from Google for regular, everyday queries. But when it comes to business listings, Siri pulls from Apple Maps. So to ensure that you’re showing up in Siri search results for “chiropractors near me”, you must ensure that you are listed and optimized within Apple Maps.
And when searches ask about reviews, Siri pulls from a third source–Yelp. This means that you’ll want to claim, verify, and monitor your Yelp profile closely.
To get started with Apple Maps Connect, you’ll have to sign in with your Apple ID and claim your business listing. Make sure that your business name, address, phone number, website URL, and social media are all listed correctly. You can also set your hours. But make sure you keep them general because there are no “holiday hours” settings.
Alexa
Amazon’s Alexa is the oldest voice-activated device on the market. She was the first voice-activated speaker to be launched and her newer generations allow you to search, shop, and listen to music. She accounts for 25% of the voice search market overall, and 70% of the smart speakers.
Alexa uses Bing instead of Google for its search queries. And for business listings and reviews, Alexa uses the information found on Yelp. This means you should focus on optimizing your Yelp profile as much as possible and consider advertising on Bing Ads as well as Google Ads.
You can also optimize for Alexa by joining Yext. This is a paid service that allows businesses to submit information which is then fed directly to Alexa. While this makes optimization much easier for some people, you don’t have to use Yext. Without it, Alexa will still pull all your information from Yelp.
Cortana
Cortana is a lesser-known voice assistant created by Microsoft. However, it still holds 19% of the market share–not an insignificant number. And Microsoft reports that one in five voice searches worldwide is performed through Cortana, which is included with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox.
As a Microsoft product, it’s not surprising that Cortana pulls all of its information–including business listings–from Bing. To optimize your business for Bing algorithms, start by:
- Claiming your practice’s Bing Places listing
- Updating regularly with correct contact info and hours
- Uploading photos of staff and facility
- Listing all your services
- Verifying your listing
- Advertising with PPC through Bing Ads
Voice Search Tips for Chiropractors
Once you’ve completed the optimization tips listed above for the relevant voice assistants, there are a few other tactics you can add to your arsenal.
Claimed + Optimized Business Listings
Directory listings are a deeply important and often overlooked SEO tactic. Search algorithms are designed to give people the most correct and current information possible. This means that mismatched, incorrect, and incomplete business listings will push you down in the search results.
Check Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places to start. Then start looking on chiropractic-specific sites like ChiroHub, Vitals.com, Doctor.com, findachiropractor.com, etc.
The same goes for your website and social media accounts–all business and contact information should match!
Reviews
Reviews are another huge part of your online presence. Voice assistants only report back the top results. If you’re not in the top three, you likely won’t be listed at all when people search for chiropractors in their area. The higher your overall star rating is, the higher you’ll be listed in Google My Business and Yelp results, and the better your chances of being included.
Ask patients for reviews, set up drip email campaigns, and respond to all reviews to cultivate a better overall rating.
Content
When it comes to SEO, content is still king. Just as we mentioned above with the snippets, it’s important that you are offering consistent and high-quality content to your potential patients. The more content you have, the higher your SEO score, and the more likely you’ll be to be reported in the top results.
Just make sure you’re writing conversational pieces that are engaging and easy to understand. Use short sentences, small paragraphs, and laymen’s terms whenever possible.
Easily Manage Voice SEO and Grow Your Online Visibility with Surefire Local
Surefire Local’s all-in-one marketing intelligence platform allows you to monitor and correct your directory listings, respond to reviews, send out email campaigns, post to social, and create content–all from one easy-to-use dashboard. Interested in learning more? Schedule a demo today! For more practice growth and voice search tips for chiropractors, check out our extensive library of ebooks, webinars, and guides.
