Voice Search: The New Playground for SEO Specialists
In the world of search, “voice” is an emerging trend. Siri, Cortana, Alexa, Google Now are becoming second nature and that’s not without consequences. As AI technology advances, voice search is likely to have a major impact on your SEO habits.
I had the pleasure of talking to Steve Wiideman about this and how voice search is changing the way we should approach SEO. Nowadays users interact differently with content and they are usually looking for faster ways of getting what they want.
Steve Wiideman is a Senior Search Marketing Consultant with a passion for all things SEO, SEM, and CRO. He is also the CEO of Wiideman Consulting Group. The company provides strategic and innovative inbound marketing solutions to both enterprise and SMB brands.
How has the way we search changed?
I’ve noticed that people, even among our team, are changing their search habits. Some of us already find it more convenient to talk directly with our smart devices when we need to search for some particular information. Accordingly, marketers that are specialized in SEO need to adapt and better incorporate long-tail search queries.
“By 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice-initiated.”
Andrew Ng
There’s a difference between typing something on your keyboard and actually speaking with your smart device when trying to search for something within the depths of the internet. When we speak, we say a lot more words because we get the feeling that we’re talking to someone. We can’t just say one word so they can get a lot of related phrases from which we get to choose the right one.
If you want to find a burger place in Panama, you’ll probably write “burgers Panama” and check for all the related results, whereas if you use voice you’ll most likely say something like “Where can I eat burgers in Panama?”.
If voice search is the future, will it impact SEO?
The answer to this is yes. Voice search impacts the way that SEO enthusiasts deal with keywords when writing content. They must incorporate natural speech and make sure they use a conversational tone closer to everyday language in order to make it more relevant. For example, let’s say that your brand is selling a beauty product. Content writers should incorporate keywords that describe the product features and benefits as detailed as possible.
Consider how people actually speak when they use voice search and involve proper sentences and phrases.
The people at Backlinko analyzed 10,000 Google Home results and investigated the role of 11 potential ranking factors on voice search results and found that found that the average Google Voice Search result was written at a 9th-grade reading level.
Why is voice the future of searching?
Start by thinking how excited we are about every new technology that reduces our effort when we engage in our everyday tasks. Now take into account that fact that we all use our phones when driving. This is not something good because it’s not safe to do that.
Voice can tackle both. We can search pretty fast and effortless by using voice, and we can also increase our safety if there is an urgency while we are driving and we need to quickly find something. This is just on the surface though.
Also thanks to the technology of virtual voice assistants like Cortana, Siri or Google Now, you just need to give the command on the device (PC, smartphone) that incorporates this technology and you can remotely control what’s going on at home. Note that these assistants can provide real help to people with disabilities by reading or writing for them.
It’s already been some years since we gave up the traditional keyboards on our smart devices. So it’s obvious that there will be a time when keyboards will belong to the past. Our attention span is shorter and shorter and voice can make it possible for us to actually improve our human multitasking skill.
Voice search means mobile, for now
On the other hand, more and more traffic comes from mobile. People are moving away from desktops and laptops with each day. If your content is optimized for mobile devices, it will appear higher on voice searches. A quick way to find out is to take the Google mobile-friendly test. You can also increase your chances to be on top of the searches if you avoid flash since it’s not supported on most mobile devices.
Before smart devices and speakers will surface the marketplace and reach every home, mobile will be at hand for everyone who uses voice search. Contrary to what you might expect, Rebecca Sentance from Econsultancy wrote that “usage of and engagement with Apple’s Siri declined between 2016 and 2017, while usage of Amazon’s Alexa has skyrocketed, with a 325% increase in monthly active users over the same period.”
Voice search may very well become the biggest search method and you are left with two choices: get on the bandwagon or get left behind. I may be wrong but I am eager to know what’s your perspective and how do you think this will impact human interactions and the digital market.
Siri, can you please post this article on my Medium profile?
Other helpful resources:
Will Google Assistant Dominate Over Siri in Voice Search?
33 Voice Search Statistics to Prepare You for the Voice Search Revolution
