It is said that by the end of 2020, 50% of the searches are gonna be done by voice. It is changing not only the way people search and find information but also how people do actionable things with other devices. In this article we will discuss how voice search works with respect to search engine marketing. So, let’s dive into it.
What’s the difference between traditional search and voice search?
Traditional searches are focused on keywords and there are pages of results. It is something that returns information that basically is typed out in most cases. Voice search is longer and more conversational. Users usually want quick answers that are read to them via voice and 22% of the time, people are trying to find local information when they are doing a voice search. Mobile-related voice searches into a phone are three times more likely to be location-based than desktop and non-voice searches, trying to find something near them.
When it comes to voice search, you want to do three things to start out.
- Determine the business goal
- Determine the assistant or the type of voice search that you want to integrate with
- Determine a plan so you can interact with it
How can a virtual assistant help me?
Yes, absolutely. Voice assistants are software that performs a set of actions based on voice commands. There are 4 different types of assistants that have to do with voice search: Google assistant, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana and Apple Siri. All of them will allow you to do voice searches. Every single one of these has ways that marketing companies and businesses can interact with them and add information to these personal assistants. They all pull different information from different areas.
What is Google Assistant and how does it work?
Like all the other virtual assistants, Google Assistant interacts with your phone and performs a series of tasks such as setting alarm, playing music, calling someone etc. Google Assistant pretty much gets all the information from Google.
The way that you basically make changes and get in front of the Google Assistant is through something called Google actions. Think of it as an app that works with Google Assistant where there is a Google action console that you can log in to and can extend functionality within it. To get inside Google Assistant, you also want to have all your information in Google properties because that is going to be pulled in. A rich result in Google is basically one of those little featured snippets that are at the top which will get pulled out in red as a voice search.
What about the others?
Alexa has something called Alexa skills. Alexa skills allow you to build an app that works with Alexa. Alexa gets information from Bing, Yext and Yelp. Microsoft Cortana actually works with Alexa and is connected with Bing and Yelp. Apple siri allows you to interact with apps through Apple shortcuts in the Apple developer kit. Apple siri gets its information from Bing, Apple maps and Yelp.
Bottom line
Digital marketing agencies acknowledge the gaining popularity of voice search. It increases website traffic, creates brand awareness and directs more users to your stores.
