Voice Search Is Going Mainstream And You Aren’t Ready
In practically every sci-fi film where movie creators imagine the future, they imbue machines with the ability to listen to voice commands. Voice commands are in many ways, what creators imagined as the ultimate goal of computing: to listen to what people said and then carry out their instructions. Today, we know that the potential for human-machine interactions goes well beyond that – and will likely do so in the not-too-distant future. But that doesn’t change the fact that voice commands are here and becoming more popular as people begin to learn their utility.
For companies, this is important. Your business might not have anything to do with computer technology whatsoever, but if you’re not prepared for the voice search revolution, then you’re behind the times. Voice search is going mainstream as people give up their keyboards and simply ask computers to come up with the information they want by speaking it.
Cortana, Siri, and Alexa from Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon all provide this functionality, making voice search a vital tool your customers are using today.
Your task, therefore, is to come up with an SEO strategy which adapts to voice search, enabling you to be found just as easily as if your customers had typed in a bunch of keywords. Take a look at these methods for staying up to date with voice search as it goes mainstream.
Understand The Voice Search Keywords May Differ
One of the critical things to understand about the upcoming voice search revolution is that your customers are likely going to use different keywords when speaking compared to typing. Many companies aren’t prepared for this, believing that the keywords that they have chosen to target are the ones that customers will continue to use.
If you’re not sure about voice search keywords, then it’s a good idea to get in touch with an SEO company. Usually, SEO agencies have the tools you need to pick and choose the right voice keywords for your particular product, allowing you to capture the market.
Voice commands have increased dramatically since 2013, when voice-enabled technologies first became available on major platforms, like Google. The voice search market is worth almost $1 billion today, implying plenty of opportunities for firms to make money on the back of the new technology.
Voice Search Is More Conversational In Tone
As you might expect, voice search is more conversational than traditional written search. Text searches contain fewer words and less wordiness than voice search. Companies, therefore, need to think carefully about what people might say (not what they might write) when looking for your products. Leveraging this knowledge could be what plants you on the first page of results, something which you couldn’t have achieved had the technology not changed.
Measure The Degree Of Intent
Voice searches also provide better clues on user intent – their desire to make a purchase. The type of question can be a great indication of the likelihood that a person will choose to act soon. “What” or “who” questions mean that people are interested, but “where” questions indicate that they’re ready to act.