Introduction
The voice search is nothing new. In fact, voice-search technology had existed for decades, only really going mainstream in October 2011, when Apple introduced Siri into the world. However, until recently, the voice search was more a novelty, rather than a valid tool. It began as clumsy, and not particularly adaptable to different situations, or even different accents.
However, in the last five years, the search for voice has progressed at an incredible rate, with a search accuracy of up to 92%. This is due to that the voice wizards, like Amazon Echo, aka Alexa), Google Home, Cortana, and of course Siri, are continually evolving, adapting, and dare to say, “learn. It’s evolving so strategy that it leaves many marketers asking one of the biggest questions of the year, how can I get the voice search to work for me and my brand?
Worldwide, the search for voice is increasing. The functions have been expanded to include television, music and text searches, online shopping and personal organization. According to Google, 20% of daily searches through your mobile app and Android devices are done by voice, and that figure is expected to rise to 50% by 2020.”A new Uberall study says that 96% of companies are not ready for voice searching. Are you part of that group? Then it’s time to make some changes.
With the increased popularity of devices like Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod, the voice search is going to be great. Very big. The voice recognition technology allows users to search a lot more strategy and more efficiently than in the past and replace the need to enter a question into a search engine online.
The Growing Voice-Search Market
In short, voice search helps people do more things in an increasingly complex world. The reasons for this increase in the popularity of voice devices in the first place are wide-ranging and vary significantly by demographics. For adults, one of the most common uses of voice searching is when to manage or do other activities such as cooking; for the youth market, it can be online media search, movies, or music, or even search tasks!
Techcrunch societies that Echo Point was the best-selling product on Amazon during the 2017 holiday season; more people are gaining access to these devices and realize the speed and convenience they offer. Voice recognition can work up to 3 times more strategy than people can write by helping people at work and during leisure activities. The increasing sophistication of voice recognition systems is also improving the users’ experience.
Today, it is said that there are more than 50 million “voice first” devices and hundreds of millions of “voice enabled” devices worldwide. In fact, according to the tech company Alpine.Ai, more than a billion voice searches occur now per month. This is a phenomenal figure, but it’s going to get bigger. The research firm ComScore has gone further, predicting that voice searches will represent 50% of all searches by 2020. Therefore, knowing that the voice will be almost half of all web searches soon, it must be enough of a wake-up call even for the most reticent technicians in business!
Steps to Get Ahead of Voice Search
So how can businesses take advantage of this growing market? First and foremost;
Check your current efforts
Wherever changes need to be made in any process, it makes sense to have a good idea of what you are doing currently. Check out your current fast online marketing and determine how much effort, if any, you have put into voice search. Think about how much effort it focuses on long-term keywords, how much it focuses on general search terms and how much more specific terms.
Please take the time to brainstorm and find keywords that are relevant to your business; don’t worry so much for keywords that don’t provide good business value at the beginning. The idea is not to make radical changes, but to be aware that the voice search is important and to evaluate the current content in that context.
Consider zero position for small businesses
The zero position also called snippets or answer boxes on Google. This refers to the text block at the top of a search results page and responds to your search query. Perhaps you run a local business; you might be able to master your niche by being presented in answer boxes for relevant voice search terms. Make a list of all relevant topics for your company and put them in answerthepublic.com you will have a wide range of questions and terms that could relate to your business. Enter each one into Google and keep track of those who do not have a prominent fragment in the results. For those who do not have a snippet, create content on that topic that could gain zero position and you should have a better chance of showing in voice search results for those topics and terms.
Optimize for “near me” searches
For local businesses, optimizing search terms “near me” is not a problem for voice searching. Almost everyone is looking for a” coffee shop near me “or a “car mechanic near me ” and having this kind of search terms optimized in their content will help you to appear when people are looking. Simply consider your products or services, and then connect your location and nearby locations to launch a vast network of local search terms that arise in a voice search.
Consider your online reputation
Just as a bad online reputation can affect your regular search rankings, it can also affect your voice search rankings. Make sure your business is highly respected online and you have positive reviews and testimonials on your website and other sites. If you have a Google My Business list (which you should have for a local company), it is essential to have at least four stars and preferably five stars. If your online reputation has been damaged in any way, it might be a good idea to hire a reputation management service to help make things right.
Train your team for the shift
Your team must be trained for any change in the business landscape, but it is worth mentioning to make sure they are ready and everyone is on the same page. Make sure that content creators, account managers, and anyone who may be directly or indirectly involved in voice searching understand what it is and why it is crucial. Providing continuing training as the world of voice search continues to evolve is also essential for the whole company to stay above the curve.
Use plain and simple language
One of the most important elements in preparing for voice searching is the use of the same kind of language and phrasing that people use when speaking. When doing a search query through the search for voice, most people use the simplest and most direct words possible. There is rarely an attempt to be articulated or severely or to use a flowery language as many have to do with the written word. This concept is something to consider when performing your initial content verification and something to consider to advance with the content you produce.
Make your content relevant
It is also important to produce content that is relevant to the people you want to find and to the voice search questions you want to classify. It is not enough to create content on general topics that try to attract everyone. Keep your content relevant and you will probably be rewarded with higher rankings in SERPs, and with more traction in the growing universe of voice search.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the voice search is spreading more and more, but it does not have to be a point of pain for your small business. With a little education, a little training, and the implementation of useful tools and techniques, you can be among the leaders and make the voice search work for you.
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