Voice Search

 

The Future is: Conversational

In the near future you might be talking to a machine and not know it. This year at I/O 2018, Google demoed new technology showing how its virtual assistant can call a salon and book an appointment or call a restaurant to make a reservation.

A Google assistant that will even make calls for you: 

 
 

 

Realistically the demo Google showed is a little ways off, but as purchases of smart speakers increase and voice assistant technology improves, more people will use voice-related technology to get done what we need to do. That means having a voice search strategy will soon no longer be a nice-to-have for marketers.

The data behind the trend

As voice search starts to become more habit than novelty, content creators need to know how to make sure blogs, webinars, podcasts, infographics and other content gets seen by their audiences. How popular is voice search?

Google’s data claims that one in five searches voice searches, according to Search Engine People.

How to make content for voice search

There are plenty of tips about what type of content makes sense for a voice-dominated future (hint: educational, motivational and making buying easier are three) but this blog post is about how to get that content found. So what components matter most in getting content found through voice search? Read below.

  • Longer-tail keywords. Just like on-the-page SERP, this is another example where long-tail keywords will come into play. Where as long-tail means three(ish) words for text, voice search trends point to the power of even longer keywords. Keywords could be as long as seven words and still be effective.
     

  • Be conversational. Google’s focus on making the assistant mentioned above respond naturally in conversations shows how important it is for content topics and text to be written in a way that an audience actually speaks. People search informally when using smart speakers and virtual assistants. Understanding the natural language of an audience will key to being found or lost forever.
     

  • Focus on how, what and best. Voice searches are primarily built around questions, and studies have shown these three words shown up most. According to Search Engine Land, how, what and best appear in over 1.2 million searches.

 

Get smarter about voice search: Additional reading

Kara Schlabaugh