Is Your Content Voice Search Ready?
Here at Moondust , we keep our finger on the pulse of the latest marketing trends. And there’s a new player in the content marketing space. Voice search. Globally, 71% of consumers are opting for voice search over typing search queries online. Also, the two largest consumer groups are driving voice-search adoption. 65% of millennials are using voice-enabled devices, closely followed by 59% of Gen Zers.
In Belgium, in June 2019, 18,9% of people reported having used voice search or voice command tools in the past month. (Source: Global Web Index)
Voice responsive technology is emerging as a disruptive force in the content marketing space but is your brand ready for it? We’re delving into voice search and looking at how your brand can embrace the latest developments to serve content the way your audience wants it.
What is voice search?
If you’ve ever used Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, or Microsoft’s Cortana, then you’ve used voice search. With voice search, consumers use voice commands instead of typing requests on a keyboard when searching the internet or an app. The process typically involves the following steps:
· When a person says something, voice search software or a voice search assistant processes and transcribes the speech into text.
· The text is analysed to detect commands and questions
· The questions or commands are connected to external data sources like search engines or ap stores to find the relevant information.
· The data source translates the information into a digestible format and uses it to fulfil the user’s intent.
Voice search is a hands-free activity that allows people to multitask without necessarily tying themselves to their device. For example, a person can use voice search when exercising or cooking.
Source: Perficient Digital
Did You Know: A NPR survey revealed that 65% of people who own Google Home or Amazon Echo can’t imagine life without a smart speaker.
What is fueling voice search?
Busy lifestyles are driving consumer demand for convenience. The leading reasons for voice command usage like “Fast”, “No typing”, and “Answers read back” all point to this need for convenience.
Source: Perficient Digital
Voice search is helping consumers communicate better. Already, voice memos are the second most popular form of shared files on Facebook Messenger and 200 million voice messages are sent on WhatsApp daily. Voice conveys tone and intent better than bare text and this makes it an attractive option.
Consumers are also using voice commands more because of their increased accuracy. Improvements in speech recognition technology are thrusting voice search to the top and 53% of consumers feel that personal assistants like Siri and Google Assistant understand them well.
Voice search and content marketing
According to PWC, 32% of consumers are using voice search daily to substitute manually typing searches and studies from Alpine.AI showed that voice searches averaged 1 billion per month as of January 2018.
To compete in this busy landscape, content needs to be optimised for the informational needs and behaviours of voice searchers. That means you need to consider not only how you write but what you are writing about, because voice search differs from text search in several ways.
· Voice search typically provides just one answer instead of multiple responses
You can use voice search content marketing to strategically position your products for maximum exposure since consumers are more likely to buy a top product recommended by a virtual assistant device over the one they had in mind.
Example, Esteé Lauder
Global makeup and skincare company, Esteé Lauder, uses voice search to promote its brand more effectively. Through a partnership with Google Home, Esteé Lauder created a voice-activated skincare expert named Liv who answers beauty-related questions.
Liv gives consumers just one answer which often recommends Esteé Lauder products. This strategy is more effective compared to inundating consumers with millions of results, as is usually the case with traditional web searches like this.
· Voice search reveals consumer intent better than text search
This is because it tends to use longer phrases and is more detailed. These characteristics of voice search allow you to get a clearer picture of what the consumer wants and help you create customised and targeted content that consumers crave.
Purina and Tide are two more brands leveraging voice search for personalisation using Alexa skills. Purina uses the “Ask Purina” skill to answer dog-related questions.
Tide has a “Stain Remover” skill that provides consumers with step-by-step instructions on how to eliminate over 200 types of stains.
Both skills use voice search to provide valuable and personalised solutions for consumers while building brand awareness and authority. This hits all the sweet spots for 2020. Voice search compatible, personalised data and bitesize content delivered instantly.
· You can get consumer feedback more easily with voice search
On average, people type 40 words per minute but they can say 150 words per minute.
Traditional text feedback tends to take longer to write than voice feedback and there may be uncertainties when it comes to consumer tone.
Voice-based feedback services Heyoya Voice Reviews not only cut the time it takes to provide a review but also brings customer reviews to life, eliminating the ambiguities of plain text.
· Compared to text search, voice search makes new and repeat purchases easier and faster
Voice search can make the ordering process more efficient and simpler. For example, Domino’s lcustomers order pizza via voice and Starbucks also allows customers to order drinks in advance using voice cues. Using voice, ensures that orders are understood well and reduces customer waiting times.
· Voice search is more locally oriented than traditional text search
This makes voice search a great device for providing hyper-targeted content. For example, consumers may ask questions like “Where are pizza places near me?” or more specifically “Where are the pizza shops near Madison and Main Street in Chicago that serve Greek pizza?” By analysing these searches, you can create offers that get engagement and sales.
Did You Know: Voice search is locally oriented but only 18% of smart speaker users use their smart speakers to find a local business. Most local searches are conducted on smartphones, tablets, and desktop.
Getting your content ready for voice search
Voice search is undeniably the immediate future of web search. The global market for voice search devices has grown by 187% and ComScore forecasts that half of all searches would be voice searches by 2020. That’s in 2 months’ time! Your content needs to be optimised for voice search going forward. Here’s how to get started:
#1 Update your SEO practices
The conversational nature of voice search has changed SEO for content marketers. Here are some updates you will need to make:
· Refine your keyword research to incorporate phrases and long-tail keywords. Voice search makes use of natural language, so you need to shift from terse and unstructured keywords to long-tail phrases or even complete sentences.
For instance, a Google text search can be “flights New York City Thursday” but a voice search will be a more conversational query like “Are there any flights to New York City on Thursday that will arrive before 6 pm local time?” Optimising content for voice SEO requires focusing on the nature of voice search. The benefit of course, is that for readers this actually provides a nicer, friendlier style of content.
· Optimise your content for featured snippets since the majority of voice answers on Google are provided via a featured snippet. Featured snippets are designed to answer questions and so researching Google’s featured snippets that are relevant to your product or service can give you insight into the best keyword for voice SEO. Once you determine the questions that drive the most snippets, you should aim to provide better answers to questions that your target audience are most likely to pose.
Google snippets are now known as position zero in SEO terms. Previously, position 1 was the holy grail of spots but users are now more likely to click on a snippet making them highly valuable.
Interesting fact: Almost 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by just 25 keywords and most featured snippets tend to answer “What” and “How” questions.
· Content needs to be more detailed and specific rather than general so it can be found via SEO. For example, a person using voice search may search for a restaurant using the phrase “Which restaurants located in the Brixton area in London have a vegetarian menu?” To show up in the search engines, a brand will have to use more detailed statements like “ABC is a restaurant located in the Brixton area of London that has a vegetarian menu.”
· As already highlighted, voice search is more local. You need to keep all your contact information and business profile up to date to make it easier for customers to find you.
#2 Create a voice-optimised FAQ resource
Voice search queries normally require on-the-go answers. You can create short-form content that provides quick and concise answers and enhances your voice search optimisation efforts using FAQ pages. Your FAQs should be created around long-tail keywords and conversational but specific questions.
McDonald’s has a comprehensive FAQs page that’s specific and structured conversationally. This page enhances customer support because there’s a high chance that a customer will find an accurate answer when they raise a query.
FAQ tips:
· Jumpstart your FAQs by using tools like Google Suggest and AnswerThePublic to get questions related to specific keywords.
· Enhance your FAQs by including the questions that customers ask before they make a purchase, for example, questions about product price and comparisons with other products.
· You can also turn your FAQs into more detailed blog posts that improve your SEO and build your featured snippet real estate quickly.
Key takeaway: Understand user intent before creating content to deliver accurate results that are based on the anticipated context.
#3 Leverage video content
Video content has two distinct advantages that make it great for voice search:
· It use uses conversational dialogue
· It’s one of the best ways to depict a question and answer conversation, which is one of the crucial elements of voice search
Demand for video content is increasing and 72% of people prefer video over text when learning about a product or service. This means you can embed search phrases in video scripts to capitalise on the power of video for voice search.
Top tip: You can repurpose your top content including blog posts and FAQs into short explainer videos that answer questions and educate your audience. This will help improve your SEO and can be a powerful conversion tool.
For example, Howcast, an educational site, has an instructional video for its “How to paint a wall” blog post.
The post doesn’t feature on the top search results but the video is a suggested clip, showing the power of video content. Just remember, users want fast answers. So, whether you’re writing the answer or videoing it, keep it to 1 minute or less. If the answer is more complex, provide a quick summary and link to more detailed resources.
Get your site voice search ready
People normally have their phones with them, and so they are likely to use them when they want immediate and ready-to-use information. 32% of internet users worldwide have conducted a voice search via mobile. To optimise your site for voice search, you need to optimise it for mobile. Your site must load quickly, provide relevant information, be user-friendly, and provide the right answers to voice search queries.
Top tip: To provide relevant information on your site:
· Anticipate the stage at which a user is likely to need the products or services you offer
· Anticipate the information needs that a user will have at this stage
· Provide information that educates and aids in the decision-making / purchasing process
Be prepared
Global voice commerce is expected to be an over $40 billion industry by 2022 but only 4% of businesses are voice search ready. Voice search is shaping the future of content marketing and with the right strategy you can stand out from the crowd by getting your content voice search ready.