Can you imagine the internet without web search engines? If you are not a digital native, you might even remember part of what is was like.
There was no easy way to find information on the internet back in the “Good Old Days.” It was expected of you to know the exact website address and topics you were looking for. Nowadays, all information is found and presented to the user extremely fast.
As technology is gradually developing, new ways to dig out information are made available to us.
Voice Search is the new black
Lately, voice search has beeene getting a lot of attention from the big brands. Even if it may seem like a brand-new concept, voice search has been around for years. In fact, Google has been developing and testing several different voice assistants since 2002.
We have probably all heard of “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google.” With a simple voice command, you can find information on the weather, play a song from Spotify, find opening hours at a particular restaurant, and so much more.
The development of voice search in the last few years has been incredible, maybe even spectacular. It has meant that we will soon have the opportunity to replace text searches with voice searches – both via mobile phone, computer, and Home Assistants. Currently Apple’s HomePod/Siri, Amazon’s Echo/Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Home/Assistant Voice Search, and Alibaba’s Tmall Genie are providing voice search through their own platforms and devices.
In the United States, a lot of research on voice search has been done – looking into when, how often, why and what we are using voice search for. Even Google, who first introduced voice search in 2002, is still developing and testing its voice assistant as a bright future for voice search is predicted.
Voice Search versus Text Search
When we first got introduced to Siri back in 2011, we were not always sure that we could count on her understanding us. It was necessary to speak slowly and clearly as the chance of her finding the most relevant answer was small.
Today, the development has improved significantly. The artificial intelligence of virtual assistants can understand more complicated commands, which makes text search seem like a much slower process.
An example could be going on a vacation. You want to figure out what could be fun to do and see in London, and you will probably follow these 5 following steps to figure it out:
- Take out your mobile phone or computer
- Open your web browser
- Go to Google
- Make your search
- Sort search results
It is a very long process that we can probably all relate to. This process is shortened to just two steps with voice search. Simply pull out your mobile phone and talk to it.
It may seem a bit strange to “just talk to your mobile phone.” But, if you were not born holding a smartphone, it also seemeed strange that we “just had to touch a screen” rather than pushing the buttons on our old Nokia or Sony Ericsson.
With voice search, it is going to be a much faster, easier, and more convenient way to get from A to B. You ask your voice assistant, who in a short time will load all the data from various websites and present the answer to you. This will eliminates the need to search through numerous Google results, which can be very frustrating and take lots of your time. That is what your digital assistant will do for you.
How is Voice Search going to affect the way that we are doing Text Search?
There is no way to predict what the future will bring. We can always try to predict new trends, but we can never be 100 percent sure.
In recent years, Google has invested a lot in voice search and Rich Snippets & Info Boxes. Google’s focus on optimizing voice search has caused a search engine optimization drama between voice search and text search.
Keywords will turn into full sentences. The purpose of voice search is, as described earlier, to make it faster, easier and more convenient for the consumers.
We will therefore present the 3 most important points when optimizing your search engine optimization for voice search:
- Words and phrases are still essential factors in your search engine optimization
Most people do not speak the same way, they write. Therefore, voice searches often become longer and more specific. This means that you need to make sure that your content will provide short, but very accurate, answers to users and potential customers’ questions about your product or service.
For instance, if we continue thee example of ‘what could be fun to do and see in London’. A user may type “Attractions in London” or “London vacation”, giving the search engine virtually nothing when it comes to intent. But if a user were to indicate a specific purpose for their search, such as “where can I best experience the English music culture in London?”, his or her intent comes through clearly. For marketers, these natural language queries help them better serve customers.
- Do not only think not only about keywords, but think also about topics
If your company is in the experience and tourism industry, you need to think about all the topics that users may have within your industry.
- Think local
Many people use voice search when looking for something right where they are. Maybe a specific store, a specific attraction that will only be there during that day, or maybe something completely different. Therefore, considering local search engine optimization, when optimizing your site for voice search, is a necessity.
