Voice search is picking up the pace quickly. Google reported that more than 20% of the
searches are already being performed via voice search. And due to the increasing number of
Internet of things, experts are predicting that the number might go up to 50% by 2020.
Well, the prediction might seem a bit exaggerated, the growing trend is indicating that it
might be possible. Amazon Echo and Google Home are not only creating buzz but are also getting a lot of positive reviews. The Amazon Echo was the best selling product during the 2016 holiday sales! Also, now every smartphone comes with a personal assistant, which further escalates the possibilities of voice search becoming a big hit!
While many people may argue that the “Experts” have been predicting such things for quite
some time, without any success. Now people are more tech savvy and they
prefer convenience, and that’s exactly what voice searches provide. For seniors,
it’s really hard to type a long sentence into the search box. And then there are those with big
fingers, they struggle a lot to type just a single sentence. Also, if you have your hands dirty or are super busy trying to multitask, voice search is very reliable.
Voice search makes it easy for everyone to ask questions, without struggling with the tiny keys.
Also, the fact that humans can barely type 40 words in a minute but can speak up to 150 words
pushes the possibilities even further. Google has reported that their Voice search is now 95
percent accurate, a 20 percent improvement when compared to 2013.
The voice search may have tasted the limelight long ago, but because the AI was not so
good at getting the context, people were turned off. Now many people don’t use it
because of the poor past experience. However, things might change because of the high level of
accuracy that voice search now provides. In the near future, the AI will become more sophisticated in understanding the actual context of the queries. They will provide results based on the context rather than going with the literal meaning. And this will compel everybody out there to use voice search, because who doesn’t love convenience?
NOW IS THE TIME TO START OPTIMIZING YOUR SITE FOR VOICE SEARCH
A recent study revealed that people are starting to use voice search in public, because in
the past, most of the users were quite hesitant, and only felt comfortable at home or in private
space. But as the technology is advancing, they are getting used to it.
As a business owner, it’s better to keep an eye on the changing trends and this is exactly what
we are asking you to do. Until now, optimizing your content for voice search was mainly for
the B2C business, but since it has the potential to go mainstream, it’s better that you start
optimizing your site for the voice search immediately. It will not only put you ahead of the competition, but will also affect your overall SEO efforts because it’s not a separate initiative, but just an expansion of the existing SEO practices.
Here’s how you can be prepared for the B2B voice search.
It’s a no brainier that voice search will be performed using mobile devices, so mobile
optimization is crucial. If you start optimizing your website for voice search now you will be able to ride the first wave that other people didn’t catch.
As compared to text search, voice searches will be longer. So research long tail
keywords and use them in your content. Also, you might want to start giving your
language a natural /conversational tone so that the search engines find your website
relevant for the search queries.
Optimize for local. Voice search will mostly target nearby locations. So, it is critical that
your business is listed and verified in top tier local directories such as Google My Business,
Bing, Facebook, Yelp, etc. Terms that people use most often when performing a voice search for a local business are “Near Me”, “Around Me” and “Close To Me”.
Targeting featured snippet will help you get the position zero (equivalent to the page
one ranking).