Voice-search is increasingly becoming a way people find information online:
- Forty-one percent of adults use a voice- activated personal assistant at least once a day.
- Fifty percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020.
- One-third of smartphone owners use their voice-activated personal assistants regularly.
- More than 35 million Americans use a smart speaker at least once a month.
- Moreover, the global market for smart speakers is expected to grow to $2 billion by 2020.
Voice-Search at Work
And before you assume that consumers do all of their voice search in private, consider that in a recent study, 50 percent of respondents said that they use voice search in the office. That must make for great cubicle relations.
Interestingly, voice searches indicate a greater intent to buy. This could be a good time to review the SEO strategies you have implemented on your website.
Be Natural & Direct
Here’s how you can optimize your web copy for voice-search:
- What problems does your company help consumers solve? Write content that answers these questions.
- Once you’ve figured out the best terms and questions, look these up in Google.
- Pay attention to the answers that Google spotlights in the answer box at the top of the page.
- Can you answer these questions in a more direct way? The answers that show up in the Google Answer Box are the answers that get read out loud, increasing your odds of customer action.
- Be Natural. When people use a virtual assistant to search for something, they’ll usually use words like “who,” “what,” “when,” “were” etc. Are you answering these questions on your website? If not, you might need to take another look at your copy.
Throwing another search factor into the marketing mix can seem daunting. But, by taking some small steps, you can incorporate some thoughtful strategies and optimize your website for voice-search.