Whether you use it or don’t, love it or hate it, voice assistants and their search capabilities are here to stay. In fact, not only are they here to stay, but they’re continually taking up a greater role in our lives. With this in mind, marketers are wise to keep an eye on voice search and how it affects digital marketing. Here’s some thoughts on tackling this challenge proactively:

Voice Search Basics

Voice search is based on speech recognition technology, which works by taking phonemes and translating them into letters. For example, when you say the word “cat,” this technology recognizes “c,” “a,” and “t” as separate phones and spells it out alphabetically. Experts from Google and Microsoft agree that this innovation will make significant progress and have an increasingly large role over the next decade.

Already, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information within the last year, and 46% of voice search users use it daily to look for a local business.

Types of Voice Search Tools

By now, you probably know the different digital assistants with voice search capability; Google Home, Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, and Facebook Portal, plus phones and laptops with integrated voice search.

According to Microsoft’s 2019 Voice Report, among the four most common voice assistants, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant both have a popularity rating of 36%, while Amazon Alexa is at 25%, and Microsoft Cortana checks in at 19%. Each of these tools “behaves” a bit differently; Siri often directs users to the web when it can’t process a question (Cortana frequently does the same), while Alexa can make more assumptions about an individual’s request and prompt the options to place an order — and can also dish out some sass when feeling it. Similarly, Google will often recommend potential purchase options as well.

Most telling, though? Roughly 70% of consumers who own an Echo or Google Home say they now feel they couldn’t live without it.

How People Use It

Of individuals who use voice search assistants — Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana — the most popular questions to ask these virtual helpers have to do with the “what” something is, or the “how” something works. Less commons are “where” questions, such as “where is the closest post office.” But the least commonly-used questions for voice search assistants are questions that ask “when” or “why.”   

Per the leading brains on conversational AI, the next leap in voice search will likely be enabling voice tools that effectively answer the “why” questions. Currently, however, SEO and other organic channels are best served by creating website and social content that answer the “how” and “what” questions. For PPC campaigns, activating keywords that relate to “how” and “what” questions will help drive traffic to this content.

In essence, users enjoy speaking casually to their voice search tools. When virtual assistants can respond to this, it streamlines everyday activities — for example, being able to say, “Alexa, add tomatoes to my Whole Foods shopping cart” eliminates many steps from the typical purchasing process.

In the end, many consumers would rather talk than type. After all, it’s both an easier physical process and inherent for humans. According to the 2018 Voicebot Smart Speaker Consumer Adoption Report, by 2020 it’s projected that 30% of web-browsing sessions will be done without a screen. The bottom line is that voice search is forcing AI to become more conversational and able to understand the semantics behind speech, instead of just understanding the actual words used.

What Does This Mean for Digital Marketers?

Voice search’s role is continually growing — its industry is currently worth over $600 million without any sign of slowing down.

It’s increasingly useful for marketers to pay attention. For one, the type of language used vocally versus in typed searches vary; voice queries typically are more casual, so optimizing your business’ online presence will mean accommodating those linguistic differences. For SEO and PPC, this means considering long-tail keywords as part of your strategies. For example, instead of keywords that are 1-2 words in length, try testing keyword phrases that are 4+ words in length. These longer keyword phrases should also be more conversational, similar to the natural language we use in our everyday interactions.

Furthermore, voice searches are frequently used in different contexts — 44% of queries are to research a product or service and 31% are used to compare services. For digital marketers, this means incorporating searcher intent into keyword strategies and leveraging terms like “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why” “how” or “which.”

To Wrap It All Up

Companies who anticipate the progress in voice-related AI and how that progress will affect consumers’ relationship with search tools will have an upper-hand in their online marketing.

While some bristle at voice search, the facts are that A) it’s coming, and B) it’s a humanizing technology. That is, voice search allows individuals to interact with technology in a way that’s similar to how they interact with other people. In the end, this benefits businesses; a user who can eliminate half the steps involved in making a purchase is more likely to convert. But it only benefits businesses willing to adapt! Those who push back on the voice search trends will create unnecessary obstacles for themselves in the future. But businesses who optimize for voice search tools will stay ahead of the game and keep up with consumer behavior.

At Fujisan Marketing, we can assist you with building strong voice search strategies for your PPC and SEO campaigns. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.