Voice search is taking over search, find out how we can help your business
Over one billion searches on mobile devices are done by voice every month and it was once thought that 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020 (derived from ComScore data).
The importance and role of voice search however still requires attention and consideration, despite adoption figures not reaching the lofy 50% marker. Google has cemented this notion further by publishing its first-ever voice search guidelines.
As the technology and devices for voice queries are advancing, it is key that you consider optimising for voice search as a part of your digital strategy and marketing mix.
But where do you start? What is there to optimise? And how does it impact upon your SEO? After all, if more people are using voice search, won’t fewer be searching via traditional key strokes?
What is voice search?
Voice search is a speech-activated technology that allows a user to carry out a search via a voice command instead of typing the query into a search box.
The interaction is enabled by digital assistants such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa, Alice and Google Assistant.
These digital assistants, also referred to as eyes-free voice assistants, can understand voice queries from a user and return audio responses or perform actions on behalf of them.
The leading eyes-free devices currently in the market are Amazon Alexa and Google Home, with Apple recently entering the arena by introducing Homepod.
These devices let you interact eyes-free because they do not have a screen or a keyboard, but may be connected to other devices in your home.
Thus, the main method of interacting with the device is to talk to it, and listen to audio responses.