OK Google, Siri, Alexa or Cortana: The Impact of Voice Search on Marketing
More people started using smartphones to access information, and more states are mandating hands-free devices while driving. So it is no wonder that voice recognition tools also called as personal assistants such as iPhone’s Siri and Microsoft Cortana, and mobile apps for Google such as EVA Intern, Speaktoit Assistant, etc., are increasing in popularity. For desktop users, voice control on their PC is an old hat to gamers and the physically challenged. Among the global population, however, use of voice activation software such as Jarvis (Yes you heard it right it is Jarvis from Iron Man series, not exactly LOL) is also becoming more prevalent. Moreover, the latest version of Chrome allows users for voice search.
What is Voice Search?
Voice search utilizes speech recognition technology to enable searchers here the voice searchers to make voice command search queries. As a result, search engines Google for OK Google or Bing for Siri will return a direct answer and generate a list of results. The search engine works by matching the user’s voice query to the most suitable answer while considering the user’s search history and past behavior. These voice-based queries use a combination of technologies to provide results: text to speech (TTS), natural language processing (NLP), and pre-programmed language voice search tools including Google’s voice command app, Apple’s Siri, Windows Cortana, and Amazon’s Alexa.
Right now telecommunications companies started investing heavily in making their voice command capabilities accessible across various devices. Amazon’s Alexa is surely at the top of the pack, with its ability to respond to user commands to initiate various tasks and source information on the Internet. It is relatively famous for its capacity to identify voices located far from the device e.g. across your room if you had one. For digital marketers, however, the buck probably starts with Google Now, Google’s version of voice technology. Google Now works adversely compared to other voice technologies by gathering information on the user’s intent and behavior to use this information to forecast their needs.
For instance, the Google Now app may give you traffic and weather updates a few minutes before you start your commute. With Google Now, voice searchers can select and customize their cards and set up reminders for virtually everything. The wake-up phrase for Google is “Okay, Google”, after that you can ask it virtually anything. Most of the Android devices have Google Now integrated, while few Android devices which may not have access can still use Chrome or the app itself. Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana work in just about the same way. There are some technologies behind the propagation of voice-based search and no doubt the level of accuracy of voice search assistants will improve with time. Presently, webmasters need not be worried about implementing any markup codes to rank for voice-based search. For now, the same SEO best practices are enough to maintain high rankings.
However, it is important to remain updated with your performance across various systems. You can do this by using voice searchers such as Google Now, Siri, Cortana, or Alexa to find your business and the common phrases you are targeting to see whether there’s a variation in the realized results.
Take a Glimpse at Amazon Echo
Getting ready for Voice Search
As it continues to grow, companies need to have a strategy in place that focuses on optimizing for voice-based search queries. Here are a few unique areas to be considered as you consolidate voice search into your overall SEO strategy
- When planning target keywords and content, keep in mind that conversational nature of voice searches works well
- Consider the customized experience of voice search. Google is becoming remarkably personalized with it’s voice-activated apps, such as by giving accurate traffic and weather information at the time of an individual user commute and customizing data and reminders for users
- Develop questions that users may ask related to your business and make sure you have the exact topic that answers those queries. This could include adding FAQ and Q&A content to your site which is most popular
- Optimize local sources as most of the voice searches are related to “near me” queries such as “Digital Marketing Training Near Me.”
- Ensure your website is mobile optimized and follows Google’s mobile SEO best practices
- Implement structured data markup including breadcrumbs, rich snippets, and Sitelinks. Google will pull data from the structured markup and display it in Knowledge Graph depending on whether the search query is authoritative with website
Future of Voice Search
While everyone was in agreement that voice search is not there yet, it is something that’s evolving and may play a leading role in the future of search and primarily in that voice search will be blended into our lives beyond just smartphones. Here’s what’s likely in the future
- Behavior and pattern recognition
- Greater prevalence especially with wearables
- Evolution of SERP
- Accent and language recognition
- More apps using voice
To give you a searchable list of 150 voice commands and 1000+ variations of Okay Google commands you can say to Google we have ok-google.io from Developer kitze. Voice is the next evolving thing that needs to be owned within each and every search marketing activity as a digital marketer.
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