In recent years, voice search has appeared to be nothing but a quiet whisper in the digital marketing space. However, this is about to be amplified with the prediction by Comscore that, by 2020, over 200 billion searches will be voice-activated.
In an already noisy marketing environment, unblock your ears and increase the volume, as voice search will transform the way consumers engage with your brand.
How Common Is Voice Search?
Voice-enabled searches have seen a considerable increase in adoption in the past few years, due to the growing presence of intelligent assistants and AI applications such as Siri, Cortana and Alexa in smart devices. With 61% of smartphone users already relying on their intelligent assistants for instant and on-the-go results, trends have begun to emerge which will inform brands digital strategies in the future. From natural language affecting search engine optimisation (SEO) to providing more insight and data that can be used for consumer engagement, voice search is having a booming influence in digital marketing.
A major trend that has been identified with the increase in voice search, is the shift from keywords to long-tailed and highly specific queries spoken in natural language. For example, consumers are no longer searching for generic terms such as “McDonald’s locations”, rather they are asking their intelligent assistants “Okay Google: Where is my closest Maccas.” Evidently, this emphasises that voice search will greatly affect current search engine marketing strategies, which will challenge established SEO basics and require sites to be optimised to include colloquial phrases to ensure brands remain visible on search engines.
What Opportunities Does Voice Search Present?
Furthermore, voice search provides marketers with useful data and insights about consumer intent that may have been previously difficult to analyse through standard keyword searching. Through asking questions that begin with “what”, “how”, “when” and “where”, it can be determined whether a consumer is simply interested in a product or is ready to take action, allowing for advertisements and marketing efforts to be optimised accordingly. Intelligent assistants and artificial intelligence technologies also possess deep-learning capabilities, which can be utilised for personalised brand experiences, and higher consumer engagement.
Customer expectations are constantly evolving alongside technology advancements. With personal intelligent assistants in the palms of consumers hands, personalised experiences, high relevancy and efficiency has become achievable and is the common craving for consumers. The insights and data provided through AI applications and their deep learning algorithms can help satisfy these cravings, creating meaningful and relevant messages, one-on-one brand experiences and fosters a human touch in the digital environment.
Adapt And Thrive With RGC
As voice search becomes a louder and more prominent feature in the digital marketing environment, highly relevant brand experiences are made possible. The data and insights gathered through voice search queries allows for a greater understanding of customer expectations and preferences and can determine ongoing SEO strategies.
Our Sydney based SEO agency, RGC Digital Marketing can help your brand optimise your site for your voice search with consumer engagement in mind. We can also create advertisements that are highly targeted and are relevant for consumer’s specific search queries. To find out more, please contact Richard on (02) 8883 2988 or email richard@rgcadvertising.com.au
