Aaron is the co-founder of Kilowott and has experience of over 15+ years as a Full Stack designer, marketeer & Growth Hacker. Currently he’s working as a Chief Executive Officer of Kilowott. Prior to Kilowott, Aaron worked as one of the members of the Board of Directors in Nordic Intent. At Fronktom, he was working as a Senior Digital Consultant. He is also the co- founder of ‘Fat Hamster Studio’ and ‘Nine Stack’.
Everyone is quite familiar with text-based Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The next leap in this segment is voice SEO. The keywords and search phrases are optimized through voice assistants, which recognize the voice and forward the query to the search engine through artificial intelligence (AI). The everyday use of smart voice assistant devices like Google Home, iPhone Siri, and Amazon Alexa has increased the popularity of voice SEO. The freedom to multitask is the most prominent advantage that has drawn everyone’s attention. As more and more consumers have started speaking to smart devices, it is estimated that 50% of all searches are voice-based.
The Hidden Value
Voice search offers a better opportunity for interaction between brands and consumers, unlike text SEO which focuses on keywords. Voice SEO also provides deeper insights into customers’ behavior and preferences. Customer engagement and retention can be achieved more efficiently with personalized experiences offered by voice-friendly searches.
Trends suggest that voice searches are primarily used for navigation and local searches. Voice searches often lookout for answers about store locations, working hours, and product ranges. This brings in great opportunities for Geomarketing. Analyzing geographic and location-based searches can help digital marketers leverage brand-building and brand-positioning opportunities. Regional voice search optimization and registering on listing services can help narrow the gap between brands and customers. Local businesses can eventually increase sales in existing locations and penetrate untapped geographies.
Optimizing Voice Search
Text searches are usually short, and search engines provide various options to choose from. Voice searches are found to be long-tail keyword searches, often question-based, and use natural and different languages. Text searches, on average, have two words, whereas voice search has about 29 words. This makes it very important for the voice assistants to understand the diction and language to show desired results. The manifold rise in voice search has led to improvisation and optimization in voice search technology.
The content for voice search must be optimized with phrases like “near me,” must be conversational, and provide resolutions to customers’ queries. It is essential to understand the target audience’s needs and answer questions like ‘where,’ ‘how,’ ‘what,’ and ‘why.’ This helps consumers find products and services in their vicinity and help businesses to drive web traffic and be on top of the search ranking.
The Present and Future of Voice Search
Though the Apple iPhone introduced voice-assisted technology Siri way back in 2011, voice SEO has seemed to gain momentum a couple of years ago. This was followed by pandemic-driven lockdowns that allowed consumers to experiment and rapidly adapt to the technology. E-commerce has seen an exponential rise in the usage of voice SEO and a surge in sales volumes. Google reported that 72% of consumers use voice-assisted devices daily, 40% of users are millennials, and 62% have made purchases through voice speakers.
On the go, mobile-first and voice-friendly searches seem to be the continuing trends for the future. Voice SEO has psychological and technical benefits making it popular among consumers and tech giants. Consumers find voice formats more interactive, efficient, and hassle-free than text searches. Tech giants have the expertise to leverage AI-assisted technology and continue to invest in the Internet of Things (IoT). They are spending to improve semantics, i.e., understanding the meaning behind words.
There are debates that voice-SEO is just a fad, and eventually, traditional text SEO will gain center stage again. However, counter advocates suggest that voice SEO is the future and helps better understand consumer behavior. Digital marketers must adapt voice strategies as technological evolutions drive this space faster than ever before. An agile approach in voice SEO is changing the landscape of B2C communication.