Okay Google, why should I optimize for voice search in 2018?
It’s 2018 and people have been increasingly using search-equipped smartphone apps and voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Assistant to perform simple tasks like playing some music or making a reminder to call someone at a specific time. We personally use Google Home in our office to play music and sing happy birthday to people.
Using your voice rather than your fingertips is more convenient. Google says 20% of all searches on mobile devices are now being made by voice and technology experts predict that the figure will go up to 50% by 2020.
Voice search is new and exciting, and it is likely to shape SEO’s future. With this fast-changing digital world, marketers need to advance their SEO strategies to optimize for voice search to show up in people’s searches. Implementing this, you’ll get the insights that could help you capture the attention of people who search by voice to provide them with a better experience.
Not yet convinced? Here are three reasons why you should optimize for voice search to stay on top of the SEO game:
1) It’ll be easier to find out the searcher’s intent:
If you search for “iPhone Toronto,” one would not exactly know if you are just browsing through the web or are actually looking to buy one, the exact iPhone model you’re looking for. But, if you search “where to buy iPhone under $1000 in Toronto,” 10 results showing affordable deals or offers in Toronto for an iPhone might show up. This is because when we speak, we tend to say more and be more specific compared to a typed search since speaking is less effort than typing. Voice search will likely give you a better idea of the searcher’s intent and help you understand their buying behavior. This works even better if you research to integrate long keywords in your content.
2) You’ll understand real insights of consumers:
Think about it. There are people who sound confident online when they’re talking from behind a screen but when in real life, they sound completely different. This phenomenon is also relevant to how people search. For example, you may WhatsApp your friend, “Wanna hang out after work?” But if you were to ask the same question in person, you’re more likely to say,” Hey, do you want to hang out after work tonight?” Your natural speech pattern is more accurate than typing to someone. That’s why the queries made using voice search is termed as “natural language.”
3) Get found through local SEO:
The recently infamous Cambridge Analytica Facebook Scandal tells us your smartphone knows you, probably better than your friends. It knows your location, people you meet, your daily schedule, how you spend your time and your interests. All these factors help narrow down list local listing results. Examples of such listings could be “Nearest Chinese restaurant, or “convenience store near me.” Local searches revolve around “Where, What and How” phrases like the examples mentioned above. Being optimized for voice search helps you get found.
Now that you want to optimize for voice search, what should be your next steps?
As a local business owner or/and a digital marketer, should go back to your keyword planner tool on AdWords and makes changes in your SEO strategy to target local SEO in order for your business to show up with voice search. Additionally, since most of the voice search is done through mobile devices, now it is more important than ever to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.