What You Must Know About Voice Search
Voice search has been around for a while now. In the early days, however, the virtual assistants running the searches were very basic. It could be challenging to get them to understand what you were saying, and the results tended to be pretty inaccurate overall.
AI To The Rescue
AI has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years. Nowadays, it’s possible for our virtual assistants to get the kind of results we expect from them. They can understand what we are looking for better than before because the latest technology has enabled them to follow the human language easily.
In the past, the results of searches were contingent on using exact keywords. Now, however, if your VA doesn’t understand the term correctly, it will try and figure out the context of what you are saying. This makes voice search much more accurate and therefore useful.
In the infographic that SEO Tribunal designed, you can learn more about how voice search has evolved. For now, though, let’s go through the main facts that you need to know about it.
What Is Voice Search Used For?
There is more to voice service assistants than basic web searches. Still, the most common use is to look up things on the Internet. However, people also use voice assistants for tasks like checking the weather, getting directions, getting ahold of someone, opening their apps, or going through the email.
Some virtual assistants have become so advanced that they can also help you to schedule appointments. We can expect to see this type of high-tech expand to more uses as AI advances further.
Who Uses Voice Search?
Not surprisingly, millennials are leading the charge when it comes to this kind of search. But don’t count out Gen X or baby boomers – they are also starting to use it more.
Which Assistant Is The Best?
You would think that this would be a much tighter race, but Google Assistant leads the pack when it comes to the highest accuracy. Amazon Alexa is right behind it. Siri from Apple comes in last and actually lags quite far behind the leaders.
Is Voice Search Going to Change Business Operations?
Voice search technology has already started to impact the way we approach SEO. Savvy marketers began to make adjustments to accommodate the changes. In the future, you should also look at incorporating apps that make it possible to make appointments through this technology and consider having a voice search contact option.
How to Optimize Your Site?
Fortunately, it’s not all that much work. It just requires a bit of careful planning. To optimize for local searches, you will need to use natural language and the dialect that people in the area might use. Sorry grammar Nazi’s, that means that syntax rules are going to be relaxed.
In addition to writing more casually, you need to write more simple structures. Think of language that kids can understand. In real terms, VA’s are indeed just “children.” While they are getting better at understanding the context of language, the nuances of it are still a mystery for them.
Consider using longer sentences. With voice search, people can use longer search phrases because they are not physically typing everything out. That means that individual keywords will become less useful over time.
Also, note that most searchers will use questions when asking for information. So, it’s time to really look at the FAQ section of your site. Think about what people would ask about your product and your service and use those exact questions for the best results.
Penultimately, check your load speed. Search engines give priority to pages that are optimized for mobile and that load fast on the same devices. Why is this important? Most of the queries we are talking about will be asked using a mobile device.
Don’t Forget About Smart Speakers
With the increasing use of smart speakers, we can expect to see even more people turning away from typing-based searches. Why would you choose to type something in when you could just ask?
No fumbling with buttons and no making sure that your phone is on. All you have to do is say the activation phrase and then ask your question. And, as if that weren’t simple enough, your VA will read out the answer for you as well.
The Future is Now
Technology is advancing too fast to keep up with it easily. This is continually changing the way we live our lives. Think about the impact a live streaming service like Netflix has had on how you watch TV. That will give you some idea of the development potential concerning informational queries.
And this is not a change that is at some distant point in the future. This is happening right now. Make sure that your business is not left behind.