The voice search hype train is barrelling ahead at 1000 mph, and marketers across the world are looking to get a foothold in this new competitive arena.
There are countless opportunities for smaller brands to outpace the big guys if they apply knowledge and skill to rising in the voice search ranks.
Here are just a few of the key ways that voice search is changing the SEO game, and what you can do to ensure your brand comes out on top when the revolution is complete.
(Almost) Everyone is Using Voice Search
Just how popular is voice search in 2020? It’s exceeded expectations.
Research compiled by 99Firms shows that nearly 43% of the adult population in the United States use voice search frequently, and adoption rates are rising rapidly.
Analysts predict that by the end of 2020, half of all online searches will be voice-based, and trends suggest that voice search will outpace traditional type search methods very soon.
This is largely due to the popularity of voice-activated home devices like the Amazon Echo, and entertainment systems like video game consoles that respond to voice queries.
On top of that, smartphones are ubiquitous in today’s world, and millions of new users are loving the convenience factor of hands-free search thanks to voice activation.
Millennials and Gen-Xers are leading the pack in terms of voice search, but older generations are catching up quickly, with close to 20% of baby boomers getting on board.
Now that voice recognition software has well over 95% success rates and the Google algorithm delivers valuable information on the fly, there is plenty of room for the user base to grow.
Voice Search Happens Anywhere and Everywhere
We see the power of voice search with our own eyes and ears, but how exactly are people using this technology to improve their daily lives?
Wordstream offered a lot of interesting data on where, when, and why people use voice search in the home and beyond.
For those who own voice-activated speakers, more than half of their searches take place in the main living area of their home, like the common room or family room.
It makes sense that where people are gathered together to hang out and relax, some questions will come up in conversation!
Next on the list is the bedroom, where 25% of voice inquiries are made. This shows that people are becoming more comfortable using this technology at any time of day.
Since many people try to keep their phones out of bed, they can use voice activation technology to have their questions answered late at night.
Finally, 22% of voice searches happen in the kitchen, where hands-off technology can prove useful for folks who are cooking and multitasking chores.
Beyond the home, voice search is commonly used in the car, where people are focused on the road and have hands at the wheel.
Search queries in the car are generally on the topic of directions, finding gas stations, restaurants, or stuff to do in the city. This trend continues for people on foot, who need information about public transit or key locations in the city.
There is Money to Be Made
Voice search may seem a novelty on the surface, but the truth is that many of these queries lead to purchases, either immediately or in the medium and long term.
Voice commerce sales are predicted to top $40 billion by 2022, with projections going far beyond that in years to come.
That means that people are not just getting answers about random topics and baseball scores, but also learning about products and pulling the trigger on purchases with voice commands no matter where they are.
This is where marketers should be seeing green, and why your brand needs to climb for position in the voice search rankings to be on the winning end of this trend.
The key here will be voice search SEO, the new frontier for marketers.
While smartphone users will sometimes browse the search engine results page to dig deep into research, this is not an option for folks who use home smart speaker setups like Echo and Google Home. Those devices don’t have a screen, and answers are read aloud.
What answers get featured? Those in the top spot typically referred to as featured snippets or position zero. These coveted ranks are typically the most informative, authoritative, and structured, allowing the AI to read them aloud.
It’s a pretty simple equation: get as many of your pages to position zero as possible, master the art and science of the featured snippet, and watch enjoy the benefits of being in the spotlight.
Getting to Position Zero is Easier Than You Think
Since there is only one featured snippet per search query, it’s an intimidating project to reach this top spot. Fortunately, we have a clear idea of how to get there, and it’s not that laborious.
Firstly, you need to understand what Google prioritizes when selecting for position zero.
Like we mentioned, it’s about clear, concise answers to real, spoken questions from actual people. If your page can provide a stronger, more compact answer than the competition, the spot is yours.
The best part of this new SEO arena is that smaller brands have a real chance to shine. You don’t have to be a long-standing content powerhouse to earn a featured spot.
According to iMPACT, voice search results don’t have to be one-liners, either. They are commonly in the form of lists, how-to guides, charts, tables, and other types of structured content. Clarity and authority are king.
That means your voice search SEO strategy needs to be more comprehensive than you might think. Look for ways to organize the information on your pages in a way that Google can easily crawl and interpret for voice-based answers.
Does your page have a paragraph containing five suggestions for winter root vegetables? Turn it into a bullet-point list so Google can serve up the answers easily.
Has it been a year since you’ve last updated your Frequently Asked Questions page? It’s time to revise your FAQ to include clear, concise answers to trending questions.
Do you have key data points about insurance prices scattered throughout a long-form case study? Sort that information into a clean table or chart so Google can recommend it.
A lot of these tweaks are relatively quick fixes that don’t require a total overhaul of your SEO strategy, and you can make a lot of forward progress with content that already exists.
Of course, voice search SEO is very much a work in progress, and you should be ready to adjust your approach based on new announcements from Google and findings from the marketing community.
Conclusion
As marketers, we know the dangers of putting too many eggs in one basket, and voice search is not an exception to this rule.
You’ll still want to create quality, long-form content, diversify your formats, engage with users on social media, build strong backlinks, and check all the other boxes on your to-do list.
While you shouldn’t ignore voice search rankings by any means, see it more as the icing on the cake of your existing content marketing strategy. Good luck conquering the voice search ranks!
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