While voice-activated technologies were once a novelty, there are now a variety of them on the market that use the power of speech recognition for diverse reasons. Instead of typing, consumers use voice input to quickly and easily perform a number of tasks. Cortana, Alexa, and Google Assistant are just some of these voice-activated speakers. We can now add Voice Search. Pre-loaded with default services such as Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Wolfram|Alpha, Voice Search allows users to benefit from using voice commands for search on these engines, as well as add their own user-defined search engines.
Why do people want to use voice assistants?
According to research conducted by Google, the answers to this question are many. People indicate that it enables them to complete tasks more quickly than when using other devices. It promotes multi-tasking. It empowers individuals to garner answers and information quickly and efficiently. In fact, 72 percent of users surveyed indicated that voice-activated speakers are used to make daily routines fast and easy. From setting reminders for tasks to complete later to checking commute times to turning off and on electrical devices, many tasks are best accomplished by talking to a virtual assistant, especially when you’re hands are full. More productivity. Less hassle.
What does using voice assistants mean for my businesses?
Companies will be happy to note that Instagram followers and both in-person and online consumers who own voice-activated speakers welcome brands as part of the experience of using a virtual assistant. Information that is helpful and relevant to consumers’ daily habits, their personal lifestyle, and their spending is especially valuable. 52 percent of persons surveyed indicated they looked forward to receiving particulars about deals, sales, and promotions, followed closely by the 48 percent of those who hope to receive advice and personalized tips that will make their life easier. 42 percent of users want the scoop on upcoming events and activities involving their favorite brands, while a third hope to use voice search to get the details about business particulars such as location, store hours, customer service and support.
Clearly, there will be benefits for those brands who are forward-thinking enough to recognize the ways in which voice search will not only dominate the general practices of consumers, but also the marketing and advertising campaigns that can capitalize on its use.
How can my business benefit from Voice Search SEO?
Your business can enjoy improved visibility and credibility.
As we’ve learned from using the voice-activated assistants like Google Home, queries that require information from the web will be given in an answer that cites the source of the information and can even send a link to the user’s Google Home app. The “snippets” that are read aloud provides opportunities for businesses to capitalize on their authority by optimizing for featured snippets. Learning more about how voice search questions could help marketers devote time and energy in providing the best answer for the most common featured snippets, driving both their brand’s visibility and credibility.
When Google reads their answer to the searcher, it may also drive traffic to the brand’s site. This means that optimizing for voice search can actually assist a brand in a variety of ways, especially if it gives the best possible answer to the question.
Your business can capitalize on the natural ways audiences talk about your brand.
When we use traditional methods of searching, such as phone and computers, to type in a search, we tend to use short phrases to find what we are looking for. This saves time and physical effort. But voice search, the query more closely resembles a conversation with the virtual assistant. This means that searching, powered by artificial intelligence that becomes smarter and learns with every conversation, can include the organic ways in which consumers talk about your brand.
Understanding how your audience peaks about your business, products, and services will assist in the SEO strategies your digital team or SEO and digital marketing specialists use. Natural language phrases are insightful and provide useful information about your audience’s mindset. You can get a clear idea of what your consumer is thinking and saying, as well as interpreting your user’s intent, by analyzing the kind of question phrase they are utilizing. This data helps you make informed decisions that can tie back into your marketing campaign.
Has your company started to optimize for voice-activated searching? If so, what are you doing to determine your best strategy? Feel free to share your ideas below.