What is Voice Search? Let’s ask Siri
Voice search is when you use a device (smart phone or smart speakers such as Google Home, Amazon Echo) to verbally ask questions to get information quickly. A Voice search is typically done while doing another task since there is no typing required, you don’t have to stop what you’re doing. Voice search technology fits right in with our, multi-tasking, always checking our phones culture we now find ourselves living in.
There’s even a term called “nomophobia” or feelings of anxiety and fear that are caused by separation from your mobile phone. Wow, how did we get here? That’s another topic for another day. The point I’m trying to make is voice search is here and you should take advantage of this technology to improve your online marketing.
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How Do You Optimize For Voice Search?
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Voice search is spoken in a form of asking questions as opposed to long-tail keyword phrases. Therefore you want to structure your content in the same fashion. Think in terms of your audience and what questions they’re asking. Then design your content to answer those questions and provide the solution. Listening to your audience is key. See what questions they’re asking on Google & Quora, build those questions into your content with specific answers. Don’t forget about all the great data you’ve been collecting in your live chats as well as your phone tracking. Reviewing your recorded phone calls and live chat scripts is a great way to find the questions you need to start answering in your content for your target market.
To optimize for voice search with your paid search campaigns, you’ll want to start reviewing the search terms report (hopefully you’re already doing this).
Glean your search terms report for phrases that start with what, when, where, why and how. Also, look for terms starting with “Google find”, “Siri Who” and “Alexa when”. Once you understand how your audience is searching for your products and services you’ll be better equipped to build your content around these questions with short and to the point answers.
Typically “what“ and “who” questions represent searchers still in the research stage and “where” and “find” searches are usually a signal someone is ready to buy or at the bottom of the funnel. So you can structure your landing pages based on what part of the buying stage your audience is in
Based on the the survey conducted by Bright Local in 2018, 56% surveyed said they had used voice search to conduct a search for a local business using their mobile device. Which leads me to the next critical point.
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Why is mobile page speed important?
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People are searching on their mobile devices now more than ever and load times are critical, people today will not wait. As I’ve mentioned, people are typically doing multiple tasks while they’re doing these types of searches so they want the information ASAP.
Page Speed is a top priority on mobile. Your goal should be to have a mobile site that is user-friendly and loads information fast. You can test your mobile site for free on google’s page speed insights tool, go to https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/. This will tell you how your mobile site is performing and how you can speed it up if it needs some work.
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Did you know people will wait less than 4 seconds for a mobile page to resolve, if if takes longer they’ll leave and go back to the next result (your competitor).
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Voice Search is not only here but it’s no longer just for early adopters either. Maybe you were one of the many who received a home device this past Christmas. Studies suggest 52 million google home devices have been sold to date.
Amazon has Alexa, Google Siri and Microsoft Cortana. These devices are becoming more and more mainstream and by 2020 more than 50% of searches will be done using voice search. Here’s a funny example of how SNL explains how these devices are gaining popularity even with the 55 and over age group.
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Why do people use google voice?
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It’s fast, easy and convenient and allows you to get information on the go and get more done. People today want quick answers, most voice searches are done while multi-tasking or otherwise occupied.
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Who uses voice search technology?
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It’s no longer confined to just early adopters and teenagers. What does this mean for local businesses? It means your target audience is using smart speakers and voice technology to find what they need on the internet and you want to be there when they’re searching.
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Keep reading to find out how you can utilize Google voice and other voice services to gain a marketing advantage
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How to use this technology to your advantage
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As a business owner, it’s your job to help google understand your website and to speak google’s language. The above referenced study found that 70% of 18-34 year olds and 63% of 35-54 year olds conducted a voice search in the last 12 months on a mobile device.
Optimizing your website and landing pages for these types of voice searches will allow your brand to show more often in the search results on mobile devices. In the past we used keyword phrases, short to the point. Voice searches are longer, more conversational and questioned based.
Previously you may have optimized your website for keywords with local intent such as “Scottsdale A/C Repair”. You made sure it was in the titles and descriptions and structured your content around it. Your landing page was built and designed around that one term. As we already know, Google considers this highly-relevant and rewards you with a good quality score thus lowering your cost-per-click (CPC).
Well now it’s 2019 and it’s time to think in different terms in order to connect with these searchers. Start by building and designing your website and landing pages with voice search in mind. Think, “ok google, find ac repair near me” or “Siri, find an ac repair company located in Scottsdale”.
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Get off the fence!
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At the end of the day, voice search is becoming the go-to form of finding information and local services on the web. You want to structure your web page content so you’re on their screen when they’re looking.
Dig into your Google Ads account and find search terms that are voice based. Review your call tracking reports, live chat logs, and email form requests. Find the questions your audience is asking, then provide the answers and solutions in your content. And most importantly, work on improving your mobile page load times.
In addition, adding Schema markup code to your website will help the search engines understand your content better and return better results for voice searchers.
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Still not sure how to marry voice search with your digital marketing efforts? Give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.
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