Voice we must; when search turns vocal what should businesses do?

It has been “voiced” before and we knew it was coming; “Voice” search will slowly start getting popular. With Google Chrome already set up with voice search, the future of search is going to get “Vocal”!

This means a large population, along with mobile users who have already started using voice search, will start using voice search to get information. And they may not always need to visit a website for the answers; they will get the answers via voice. This would be applicable for specific information only where someone is looking for information such as, distance, weather, height, etc…, but the benefit is that they are no longer required to click on to links for their answers, they get their answers immediately by voice. For more detailed answers, the searchers will need to click on the search results that are provided on searching by speaking. 

For instance, if I want to know “The best pizza take away joints in San Francisco” I say, “Ok Google, please provide me the list of the best pizza take away joints in San Francisco“. For this query I don’t hear a voice answering my question but I get to see a list of websites similar to what I would have got by typing in. Once I have a list, I don’t have to type any more, just a few more clicks, and I have my answer.

The availability of voice search is so extremely helpful and useful that I have become a big fan of “voice search”. The value that this provides me is immense. I can multi-task all the time. Some of the biggest advantages are while driving, especially for information that is very precise; the drivers will get the information without taking their eyes off the road. For that matter, anyone who is looking for information, typing in long sentences on mobiles or even desktops, is not very enjoyable, having the voice search option is such a big relief!

With end users such as me who are completely hooked and booked to the voice search, how are marketers going to ensure that their businesses do not get left behind in the new era of voice search?

Before we delve into how to make the most of voice search for businesses online, I found that the SERPs results that you get from “voice enabled” searching is a bit different from the ones that we get on “typing in” the search term. These businesses are doing something different in order to be there…

To me, among other things, there is one thing that helps pages rank better and that is, natural and unique content. Presenting content in an interactive way, pre-empting what the visitor wants by providing answers in a natural, simple, and easy to understand language are by far the most critical factors in ensuring that pages are optimized for voice search. Most of these businesses are in alignment with their visitors needs because they are speaking the same language as their visitors.

How do we make the most of “Voice search” the SEO way?

One of the most pertinent things to remember is that while “speaking” most searchers will likely use long sentences but while “typing in”, the tendency is to keep it shorter. Focusing on writing for an audience, that may not use sophisticated language to search, is the key. Voice searchers will most likely say whatever comes to their mind naturally. If the content that you provide is more conversational and has simple easy to understand language, it will certainly be on its way to getting the attention of searchers who are using “Voice” search. This practice should help businesses that are already on the top search results but are not ranking in the top results for voice search. By including descriptive and long keywords in your content, you can close in the gap.

In the light of the evolving ways of searching, it may be worthwhile for marketers to re-organize, re-evaluate, and re- analyze their content so that they do not get left behind in the era of voice.

You may find the “Content is King” post that I wrote a few years back helpful.