The Future of Voice Search and What it Means for SEO
The world of SEO is always changing and developing. With new algorithm introductions like Google’s Bert and other trends in content which has huge effects in SEO. But, what does voice search mean for SEO now and in the future?
More Consumers will own Voice Search Devices
It is estimated that by 2022, 55% of households will own a smart speaker device, growing by 42%. These devices include smartphones and tablets with voice assistant and home devices like Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana.
The AI technology in these devices is also expected to develop in time. Google and Amazon would increase their already high accuracy at obtaining the right answers or products for the consumer. Therefore, this technology can affect SERPs further to help the devices obtain the best, most relevant content for the users.
Using Voice Search for Purchases
2020 is expected to become the year for voice search with over half of all searches being voice search. It has been shown that most of these searches were to obtain information about local businesses and for making purchases.
58% of consumers find local businesses by voice search. Voice search devices are likely to use location services and the searches will feature ‘near me’. These searches will inform consumers of the top results which are businesses using Google My Business to ensure they are found online and on Google Maps.
Therefore, if your business is not taking advantage of this feature in SERPs then you could be losing out on a huge chunk of customers local to you.
In addition to finding local businesses, voice-based shopping is predicted to jump to $44 billion in 2022. This is especially important for businesses in e-commerce. 85% of consumers already choose Amazon products and with Alexa in their homes recommending Amazon products, this is sure to increase.
Voice Search Uses Natural Language
One significant change that voice search will bring about for SEO is the language used in queries. Rather than using specific keywords as with web search, voice search uses more conversational language. This includes words such as: how, what, best, where, is and can.
Therefore, creating content for SEO will now be more than just using long-tail keywords, although long-tail keywords will still be essential. In conjunction with Google’s Bert Update, more context and LSI Keywords will need to be included in the content. This is to ensure your content is showing to the right audience and is appropriate for their queries.
Featured Snippets
Featured Snippets, also named position zero, have always been an important goal for SEO.
Voice Searches provide the consumer with one result, the featured snippet. This means it is even more important to get your great content in the featured snippet box or else you will go unseen and unheard in voice searches.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Voice search is going to change the way you create content and the SEO optimisation you use. This change in SEO is not to be ignored as the figures show that voice search will generate a huge amount of searches and purchases.
In order to keep up with these developments, you can try experimenting with the language and LSI keywords used in your content. Search engine optimisation for feature snippets will also become very important in order to be found by consumers using voice search. In the same way, businesses will need to take advantage of Google My Business for the same effect.
If anything, SEO will become more difficult with the increase in voice searches as the competition increases and trying to get to the top spot grows in importance.