As we move further into the age of innovative technology, we are driven now more than ever before to utilize tools that help us do things faster, including using voice-activated devices like Amazon Echo, Alexa, Google Home, Siri, and others. Tasks include but are most certainly not limited to, finding restaurants, answering questions, and even performing daily functions like switching off a lamp. But what does it mean for you and your company when it comes to marketing through devices such as these? Read on to learn more about voice search marketing.
Surge in Voice-Activated Speakers
According to a study by NPR and Edison Research, 39 million Americans own a smart speaker device. As a result of consumer feedback, smart speakers keep improving their capabilities with each new model. Lately, this has made them a useful device that some people use every day. What really stands out about smart speakers is that they are now beginning to become more of a digital assistant, replacing some of the features of smartphones when available. For example, using a voice command, you can ask a smart speaker to play your favorite song or station without the use of a radio. You can get the weather report for the day without turning on the TV. You can even buy household items, clothing, and more simply by authorizing the purchase with your voice!?
Impact on Local SEO
Until recently, most SEO-based searches have been conducted through mobile devices via text searches. While it might seem like a small change between typing and speaking the services or products you need, it changes the pattern of your searches entirely. For example, instead of simply typing out your favorite team’s name to find out the score, you might simply ask out loud, “What is the score of the Texans game?” In a matter of seconds, you’ve just changed the way you searched for something by:
- Using more words
- Asking in the form of a question
- Becoming more specific
So how does this affect SEO searches? Well, up until now, your team may have been searching for keywords and keyword phrases based solely on what people have been typing into their phones or on their computers. With voice recognition, the challenge here comes in the form of results presented to the user that no longer show up in the form of links on a page, but rather in a direct answer, limiting the options for the individual searching.
One critical adjustment to make is confirming that your website is PC, mobile, and tablet-friendly. This is something that should be done already, but if it isn’t, is a great place to start. Another thing you can do for your company is to change the SEO strategy that is already in place and adapt to providing the most relevant content optimized for voice search out of all of your competitors including blog posts, specific web pages, long-tail keywords, and essential details about your company like address, phone number, operating hours, and so on. Doing so will increase the chances of your company being first in line as an answer when someone is using a voice search engine to look for services like yours.
Finally, you should improve on the way your company’s content marketing is written by taking on a more natural tone of voice. Since most people are using a conversational and relaxed voice when interacting with voice recognition devices, your content should sound similar.
Voice Searches by 2020
If there are any residual doubts on how voice searching will affect consumers, just know that it has been projected that 50% of all searches will be conducted by voice by 2020. Although there isn’t a ton of data to work off of at the moment when it comes to all businesses using voice recognition for searches, it’s crucial to take note of larger corporations that are already doing so like Whirpool. Whirlpool has embraced a future where appliances can offer smart home features, like being able to start the washing machine using voice commands or preheating the oven with a voiced request. Of course, voice commands for appliances are only made available to certain newer models. Whirlpool even offers the enabling of voice commands through several languages in more than 20 countries across the world including Spain, Finland, Ireland, and more. With all of this in mind, more household electronics may be made to act more compatible with smart assistant devices in order to keep up with the voice search marketing industry.
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