From the terrain of visually impactful content to the rise of voice searches, the digital medium has traversed a long distance. A technology that was started by IBM a decade back and has been improvised upon by different key players, on the way, like Google, Apple, Microsoft and finally Amazon, is today all set to command the way online users are poised to conduct searches in the digital world.
Facts about voice-based searches that search engine marketers cannot and should not ignore include:
- At present, almost 20% of online searches through apps and Android devices are voice-based.
- In 2020, it is expected that half of the searches online will be done through voice.
- Also, this year, almost 30% of online browsing is expected to happen without the use of a screen.
- Voice-based commerce is expected to touch $40 billion by 2020, world-wide.
These and many other such statistical facts collected from all over the world, through different media research companies all point to the same writing on the wall – 2020 is going to witness progressive use of voice search in the online world.
Voice as a technology is not limited to only a smartphone or a laptop; it encompasses all such devices that are based on the IoT concept. Furthermore targeting is not only limited to local regions such as New York SEO, but can also apply to entire states or countries.
Characteristics of Searches that are Based on Voice Technology
- Use of simple everyday language – this feature comes from the fact that users use common natural language for voice searches – just like they would do when they are speaking to another human being.
- Voice searches start with a question word – it has been found that words like when, where, who and how are mostly commonly used during voice searches.
- Use of long phrases or keywords – voice queries tend to be longer compared to written searches. Therefore, marketers need to focus on the use of long-tail keywords in their content for better traction.
- Google uses artificial intelligence system like the RankBrain to understand the user’s voice search. This means that the technology used for deciphering the query is smarter and more sophisticated than textual searches. The rankings are based on semantic or logical interpretation of the question by the search engine rather than simply focusing on matching the keywords.
- Local searches are more prone to get searched through voice.
What Can Marketers Do?
Search Engine Optimization techniques that brands need to ensure in order to be fully compliant with Google Voice include:
- Ensure that all aspects of SEO are thoroughly adhered to.
- Conduct adequate research to identify long-tail keywords that get used during voice searches and have the content optimized accordingly.
- In order to make it easy for the algorithm to understand the voice optimized content, include, and make sure that the Microdata is relevantly streamlined and pumped up.
- Ensure that the content is composed of simple and shorter sentences, paragraphs, have the right H1 tags.
- Have a separate FAQ or Frequently Asked Question page created with long-tail phrases and written in natural language.
- Optimize content to be more relevant in the local or regional context.
