Future of Voice Search and Its Impact on SEO
Voice search is a path-breaking innovation when we talk about things that have reshaped consumer behavior. The future of voice search is powerful. The fact that more than a quarter of people using search engines use voice search features instead of manually typing is a testament to this.
Add to this the introduction of personal assistants like Siri and Google on smartphones and gadgets like Alexa. This has forced its way into the lives of people who are now searching for everything via voice.
Voice search is here to stay and will continue to grow in the future. Every business needs to focus on how consumers perform everyday tasks to be able to reach them at the right spot.
Voice search has a profound impact on SEO and should not be ignored. Imagine pouring thousands of dollars into SEO yet forgetting to optimize it for voice search.
In this blog, we will understand the future of voice search and its impact on SEO. We will also explore the ways to optimize voice search trend for SEO and its benefits for your business.
Ready to take your SEO optimization to the next level? Let’s dive in!
In the blog, we will understand
- The future of voice search trend
- Staggering statistics for the impact of voice search
- How voice search is impacting SEO
What is the Future of Voice Search?
Discover the value of voice search by understanding what it is through specific statistics before delving into its future.
What is Voice Search?
Search engines are spaces where people ask queries (keywords in SEO terms); the engine then searches through its data and provides relevant results. Depending upon the query, these results can be products, data, information, statistics, images, videos, etc.
Voice search is a functionality that eliminates the manual effort of typing your query. Instead, it uses an automatic speech recognition system (ASR) to convert the voice into text for the search engine. Now, voice users can simply command their devices and get voice responses.
Over time, artificial intelligence and machine learning have helped understand the natural language of users and get responses accordingly. These engines are now multilingually trained to comprehend user needs and respond to them in a way that is unique to them.
Is Voice Search mainstream?
Google announced its voice search feature in 2011, and by 2018, 27% of the global online population was using voice search on mobile. (Source: Think with Google)
Voice search is mainstream. Let’s understand this with the help of some data.
- As of 2023, there are 4.2 billion voice assistants, which is projected to reach 8.4 billion in 2024. On average, these answer 93.7% of search queries.
- There are 1 billion+ voice searches done every month. Around 123.5 million people used voice assistants (voice search) in the year 2022.
- From a consumer point of view, 90% of them believe that voice search is more accessible than searching online. Furthermore, 70% of the people said that they use voice search because it’s fast and easy.
- Additionally, 89% of the users think that it is more convenient to use voice search.
Source (Think with Google, Brightlocal)
If people are so used to searching via voice, imagine not optimizing your digital collateral according to it. The future of voice is promising, and so is its impact on SEO.
Top 10 Impact Of Voice Search On SEO
More people are speaking to their technology instead of typing in a search query on Google. With many of these devices becoming more accurate, speaking is often easier than typing. Here are a few impacts of voice search on SEO that your business can benefit from.
1. The way people search has evolved
While many queries might remain the same, there is a focus on the longer and more personalized way a person searches via voice search. Instead of looking for “restaurants near me” people might search “find me a list of top restaurants.” The way the search is done has evolved as the machine has also learned the way people are searching. This has an emphasis on SEO, as now your team needs to focus on listing your product/services in these kinds of keywords, too.
2. Keyword focus has shifted
The focus of SEO teams on the type of keywords has to change concerning the voice search. Long-tailed keywords in question forms are gaining more attention. When you search for keywords to target, you need to include such keywords in your list. The impact on SEO will continue to grow as the feature evolves with time.
3. Mobile-friendly outputs
The majority of voice searches happen on mobile devices. This emphasizes focus from SEO teams as they need to create pages that load quicker, have content that is mobile-friendly, and have layouts suited for mobile. Desktop use of voice search is still less, which means your pages that rank for voice search must be optimized for mobile and smart devices.
4. Insights on target audience
One core area for SEO focuses on understanding the customers and then curating content that suits their needs. With voice search, the way people behave has also changed. This means understanding these new customers, their behavior, and what they are seeking when searching via voice. Their query might be the same, but the way they are looking for answers/solutions may evolve. If you do not understand your target audience and are still creating content in the same way, you might lack in SEO targeting.
5. Conversational Tone
Voice search is like talking with the search engine. “Alexa, play me some bhajans” means your audience is having a conversation with the assistant like it is a friend. Step one is curating how it will respond and then providing options for the same. The language is also conversational, like Hinglish in India. Your content, keywords, placements, etc., should, therefore, be focused on this tone. This might be the less competitive, high-search area that your business can scale on.
6. Content changes
People are asking longer questions and using phrases instead of typing. As typing is a job that takes effort, people used to reduce the number of words like “pizza near me”. Today, they probably would ask, “Find me top-rated pizza places within 5 miles”. With the change in their language, they also look for businesses that can focus on these queries. The number of words in the queries is changing, which is an area that impacts SEO. Your answers can be in the form of snippets, and you should concisely answer them.
7. Misspellings are less concerning
There were a lot of queries earlier that had wrong spellings. It could be due to a lack of awareness of spellings or even because people wanted answers and were not too focused on the words. Some misspelled queries could also include the name of your business, which was included in the meta tags by SEO.
Voice search uses a different type of algorithm that evolves every day as users are searching. With AI and ML, the system understands what people are searching for and delivers the correct solution. There is no scope for spelling. SEO can utilize this by understanding how much of their search is through voice. Imagine 80%+ of your target group searching via voice, and you are focusing on general keywords.
8. Search intent is clear
With long search queries and focused questions, it is easier to understand the search intent. Earlier, if a user searched for “Mac computer”, SEO could be confused when a reader bounced from their landing page. Maybe the reader did not have a buying intent but instead was looking for a comparison. Now they search in a better way, like “Is Mac worth it?”. With clearer search intent, SEO strategies can be focused and result-oriented.
9. SERP & Ranking Factors
Higher SERP rankings are awarded to valuable content by Google. It is estimated that 75 percent of voice search results appear in the top three spots, making their way into featured snippets and rich answer boxes.
10. Local Search
Around 49% of people in the US use voice search for local services. “Find me a good drycleaning place near the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood,” and similar queries are more location-oriented, which indicates updating your business profile with all information. It also means more directory entries, GMB profile updation, etc.
Wrapping Up
Businesses should always keep an eye on what is next in digital that may affect their operations. Voice search has been here for a decade but has gained immense popularity now. The future of voice search is bright as it keeps on evolving. That also means the impact of voice search on SEO will be evolving. Now that you are aware of how user and voice search is changing, leverage its power for your business.
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