Featured Image Caption: Voice Search for Digital Marketing
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As technology has advanced over the past few years, voice search has managed to dominate the search engine industry quite a bit. In modern times, you could use voice search for practically anything that you could want. Alexa, Siri, and Google voice have been used excessively since their invention for quite a few tasks, be they big or small.
“Hey Alexa, play Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen” or “Siri, what time is McDonald’s open till?” are all words that we’ve said before. From our daily tasks and reminders to searching for the nearest grocery store, voice search has made our lives easier.
The voice recognition journey
When voice recognition was originally invented, it was a complex system that didn’t necessarily work as efficiently back then. Not only was it able to respond to a particular accent but the voice search was limited and felt more like a waste of time than a savior. However, over time, the voice recognition system grew so magnificently that in today’s time, almost 30% – 40% of digital searches are carried out with voice search. NATHAN GOTCH founder of GOTCH SEO has also emphasized visual search and its importance in an expert interview. You can check the whole interview here.
What can voice search be used for?
Voice search has always been able to help users with quite a few activities. To name a few, voice search can help with the following activities:
- Make a query on various search engines – There was a time when everything you wanted to search needed to be done by going to your preferred browser, typing in the name of the search engine you want to use, and then typing in your query. However, with the invention of voice search, all you need to do is – “Siri, can you Google ‘restaurants near me” and you’ll get a valid search result.
- Check for specific information – Say you want to know the time or even look over your tasks for the day, all you need to do is call out to your form of voice search and say it out loud.
- Call someone (and much more) – Even if you want to call or text a friend, the voice recognition software in your phone is capable of doing so without you having to pick up your phone! All you need to do is reach out to your voice recognition system by a “Hey Siri!” or “Alexa!” and you’re good to go.
Understanding voice search’s importance in the world of digital marketing
With more than 30% of searches being made online depending on voice recognition systems, several businesses have begun adopting voice search optimization as a crucial part of their digital marketing strategies. Since the field of voice search is still considered to be a growing niche, it currently holds a competitive advantage, which means that you should be making the most of voice recognition, now!
Google SERPs are not enough in modern times. A business is expected to go above and beyond to try to attain the heart of a user to turn them into loyal customers. If you refuse to incorporate voice search as a part of your digital marketing strategy, you’re refusing your business’ presence to 30% of your potential customers. Not only will you not be a part of their searches, but your brand will lose the ability to make a base as strong as the rest of your competitors.
However, understanding your stance for voice search concerning digital marketing is not necessarily an easy task. After all, there’s quite a huge distinction between how we type and how we speak. Think about it yourself, if you were looking for a restaurant by typing in your search engine, you would probably write “restaurants near me.” However, if you were saying it to your voice search system, you would say something along the lines of, “Hey Siri, can you look for some nice restaurants nearby?”
The distinction in speech also ends up changing the search results. The semantics of search is much more conversational than they would otherwise be, which is essentially why digital marketing agencies tend to form varied strategies for voice search.
Reasons why voice search has grown over the years
Before an invention turns out to be life-changing, many skeptics deem it to be nothing more than a fad. Similarly, voice search has been looked down upon by quite a few critics, however, it continues to grow incessantly in the digital industry. Several reasons contribute to the growing popularity of voice search over the years, namely:
Life gets easier
Simply put – if you had the option of saying what you need rather than typing it out onto your phone or laptop screen, which would you choose? Naturally, you’ll be inclined to say it out since that’s just easier.
All of us have a busy lifestyle. We get up, get fresh, make breakfast and a cup of coffee, and then sit down to work. Without realizing it, we end up multitasking most of our tasks throughout the day. For example, we make coffee whilst also working on breakfast, we check our emails whilst speaking with a client – it’s ultimately a way of life.
Voice search through the Amazon Echo or the Apple iPhone is yet another addition to the hectic lifestyle of an individual. It allows you to search up the facilities you need much more easily, allowing you to save time as you multitask your way through the day.
Almost human
For years, we’ve viewed technology from the eyes of a screen. We’ve typed, viewed, and coded – never have we ever been able to hold a conversation with the technological world. Alexa, Siri, etc. are inventions that have been able to add a human approach to the world of digital inventions.
Not only are you able to speak out your wants and needs to the respective devices, but you can also hold a conversation. Siri and Google Voice hold options of being able to speak with your devices to hold mini conversations in case you need a little entertainment. This adds a human touch to an otherwise digital world.
Voice search is changing the world – Make your move, now
Voice search has begun overtaking the digital marketing industry. Many businesses have taken this opportunity to introduce voice optimization into their digital marketing campaigns to ensure that they’re able to make the most of their investment. It’s time to grow your business the same way –
- Use conversational language – The use of conversational English can help you answer the query of your customer in the same way that the questions are asked. To truly get to the heart of the customer’s problems, you need to reach out to them in the way they prefer and not the other way around.
- Featured snippets are crucial for success – Answers to queries need to be factual and to-the-point. Google has spoken up about how optimizing content to fit SERPs needs to be carried out under on-page SERP optimization. Featured snippets are the key response to voice search.
- Think beyond text searches – When an individual is typing in a query on a search engine, they’re likely to do so with the help of a couple of keywords. However, if the same question was to be said out loud, it automatically turns into a question with more than just keywords. To optimize your website to fit the requirements of a voice search, you need to think beyond keywords.
Whether it be the simple understanding of search intent or the optimization of search engines, it’s crucial to include voice search in your digital marketing campaign if you’re hoping to reach the ideal audience. Don’t miss out on any of your potential customers and invest in a voice search digital marketing strategy, today!
Not only will this allow you to reach your niche audience but you will also be able to view your business from a better standpoint in the Local SEO group. Make a change for your business, now.
By Lyuthar Jacob
who is a content manager at Blurbpoint digital marketing agency, where he gets to do what he loves doing- writing and managing content with smart digital marketers in the company.
Member since April, 2021
View all the articles of Lyuthar Jacob.
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