The use of voice search is on the rise today. Customers find voice searches easier than typing complicated terms and phrases in the search bar. If research is to be believed, then half of all the Google searches will be made through voice search in 2020.
The massive adoption of voice search is also expected to touch digital marketing in some way or the other. By now, every marketer must be aware of the trending voice assistants (such as Siri and Alexa) for mobile users. This adoption of voice assistants made a tremendous impact on search engine optimizations and SERP ranking. A few years ago, not even a fraction of searches were made with voice assistants. Currently, more than 20% of the searches are performed through these voice-enabled speakers.
The question is, what impact does the voice search have on digital marketing? Does this really affect your website’s potential to drive traffic from the web? Let’s have a look at the importance of voice search in digital marketing.
Voice Search will Put More Weight on Featured Snippets
It doesn’t matter which voice assistant the users use for the online searches. They all extract the information from featured snippets to provide you with the most relevant answers.
Digital marketing teams are already trying to get their content on the Zeroth position. However, they will need to work harder with the increasing usage of voice assistants. As mentioned earlier, around 50% of all searches will be performed with Alexa, Siri, Cortena, or Google Assistant in 2020. Now that voice assistants focus on featured snippets, digital marketers will have to think and plan their strategies accordingly.
Earning features snippets isn’t a miracle or overnight task. You need to post high-quality and detailed content regularly to get to that level.
Voice Search Can Increase the Worth of Zero Rank
SEO experts must be familiar with the zero position in search engines. Well, the website ranking on the Zeroth position also happens to be the featured snippet. By earning this spot on Google, you are reducing the competition by driving more audience to your website. Your visitors and potential customers will consider your website more credible as it appears on the first spot of the search results. With the increasing demand for featured snippets, you must optimize your content for the Zeroth ranking.
We have already seen how important the Zeroth position is for voice assistants. They process customer queries on Google and read the answers from the featured snippets. With the increasing adoption rate of voice assistants, it becomes quite imperative for businesses to earn the zero rank in search engines.
Semantics will be More Important than Ever
When you type your query in the search bar, you write the important initials of the phrase and skip the rest. Basically, you don’t maintain a conversational tone when searching for your brand or information by typing. But, users are likely to spell their exact query when performing the search with Google Assistant or voice search.
Experts often call voice search as “conversational search”. This is due to the fact that customers maintain a conversational tone when searching for some information through voice assistant online. For example, rather than searching “contemporary townhouse benefits,” people ask “Do I need to live in a contemporary townhouse?” or may be “What are the advantages of living in a contemporary house?
If you want to earn featured snippets and optimize your website for voice searches, you need to include the queries as keywords in your content. Optimize your content for queries and be ready to witness the growth of your website.
More Focus on Mobile-Friendly Approach
According to the research, more than half of online searches are performed through smartphones. That’s the reason why Google and digital marketing companies are putting more weight on a mobile-first approach. Google has even declared to penalize the websites that don’t respond or function well on mobiles. Research suggests 70% of customers prefer to buy products from a mobile-friendly website.
It is a no-brainer fact, but if you don’t design a mobile-friendly website, you aren’t even a competition to the other websites. Even if the voice search is conducted through voice assistants, they are most likely performed on smartphones. That being said, you must focus on building a responsive website that works on all devices and delivers a smooth user experience.
It Will Grow the Local SEO
Not only eCommerce stores, but voice search plays a crucial part in increasing the value of local SEO. Do you know more than 55% of your target audience uses voice assistants to discover the local companies in their vicinity? In fact, 75% of the voice assistant users perform voice searches every week to purchase groceries, buy movie tickets, find nearby restaurants, and more.
These statistics suggest that people today are using smart speakers and voice assistants to find local shops and service providers. The increase in voice search is expected to grow local SEO at a rapid pace.
With the increasing demand for voice searches, businesses must focus on building their content marketing strategy around this latest technology. Use voice searches massive adoption to your advantage and grow your company online.