Search engines are amazing in the fact that consumers can access Google, Bing or whatever other search engine they want to find answers for their searches. In the past only searches could be performed by typing with your fingers, but now you can search through your voice.
This is very exciting because we're now experiencing a whole new wave of an industry. Search has just moved into a second phase. We have been studying this, experimenting with building apps and paying attention to this space more recently. Our team wanted to compile some information for you and give you some tips and thoughts for 2018 voice search and marketing.
This is just the start.... more of this information will be coming soon! We hope you enjoy the insight.
Local Search Impact
Moz has recently stated that the voice search will be three times likely to be local-based than a text search because majority of smartphones search for local services & products. Think when you type "restaurants near me" or "best mechanic by me". This will be the same thing for voice devices like Alexa or HomePod. People will ask "Where is the best restaurant near me?"
So when you're focusing on strategies for voice, really think about how you can dominate the search rankings as top 3 listings. The reason we say top 3 is because Backlinko recently stated "approximately 75% of voice search results rank top 3 for that query." Basically if you want to come up as lead voice result, you'll need to focus on top 3 in that search.
Understand Natural Speech Patterns
Most people don't speak how they type. When someone texts you, they likely will ask, "Grab a drink?". But if someone were to ask you in person, they would say, "Do you want to grab a drink?". Text is usually shorter because people want to save time and they can contract the sentence by throwing a question mark on the end. However, with voice, you can't really do that. You would need to add the "do you want to" before the "grab a drink" portion of the sentence or you would just sound silly.
It is going to be very important you understand the nuances of natural speech patterns that will affect search with voice.
Online Micro-Moment Journey Paths
Google gave us some very detailed insights back in 2015 they coined as "micro-moments". Basically they gave us the top 4 reasons people use search online: when they want to buy something, when they want to go somewhere, when they want to figure out what to do and when they want to know something.
This means that when focusing on your voice search strategy, you should think about these 4 reasons people use search. Voice search could add multiple categories, but this is the data we have which is compiled over 36 months of research so this will be a good starting point.
We all want those "I want to buy moments" but don't miss the other moments along the customer search journey.
2018 & 2019 and Beyond
When we start looking ahead in voice marketing & search, the opportunities seem endless. People are rapidly adapting technologies and voice allows people to save time (and time is super valuable). Instead of picking up a device and using your fingers to text you can simply ask a device a question. People thought mobile apps were silly back in 2012 because they said "why would they use an app, they can just use our website". But a mobile app saved time, offered more utility than a website and improved user quality with great functions native to a users device. The same can hold true for voice, so don't underestimate it.
Comment on this article and let us know where you think voice is going. We will keep diving deeper into this and enjoying the discovery phase. As we find out more, we will share!