Voice search has come a very long way in terms of technology, usability, and utility since the launch of voice search feature by Google in the year 2002.

It is quite accurate to say that we are observing the era of digital marketing revolution and here voice search & AI are playing a major role.

As per Comscore, by the year 2020, 50 percent of all searches across the internet will be based on voice.

It is also statistically estimated by Gartner that about 30 percent of all searches will be done without a screen by 2020, which tells a lot about the growing use of voice assistant devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo.

#DidYouKnow: The first voice search assistant was Apple’s ‘Siri’ launched on April 14, 2011.

Since the launch of the first ever voice search assistant in 2011, today, we are surrounded by them. Google Assistant, Alexa (by Amazon), Siri (by Apple), Bixby (by Samsung), and Cortana (by Microsoft) are the major names.

Among so many voice search assistants in the market, it will be really interesting to see how they compete, specialize and deliver something new while they all more or less belong to the same product category. We will keep this topic for a later post.

Let us discuss and answer some of the most interesting and important questions about the rise of voice search.

Why is Voice Search getting so popular?

We human beings are lazy creatures, we have evolved in a way that we always try and find ways to make our lives easier than before and save our time and energy only for the most important tasks.

The rise of voice search is a perfect example to support this statement.

As the search engines (and their algorithms) are evolving rapidly in order to deliver the best results against the users’ queries, it is also getting harder for the users to find the appropriate content with one, two or sometimes even three or more word queries.

This means more letters to type, hence, voice search.

With the advent of voice assistant devices and improvements in the smartphone voice assistants, it has become super easy to give commands and get things done.

Users can get things done instantly and efficiently and also they can easily multitask.

Also, it is important to note that voice search and assistance is offering a huge potential for personalization which is much more than traditional search mechanism.

How Voice Search has changed Digital Marketing?

The manner and extent to which voice search has impacted the digital marketing landscape, precisely, SEO is tremendous.

The searches made by users are unarguably the highest driving energy behind the world of the internet and voice search has changed it fundamentally.

Unlike text based searches, most of the voice searches are in a conversational tone.

Content creators are now focused to craft content that can answer specific questions related to a topic.

For example, our (Brainium Information Technologies) website contents should answer questions like: “where is Brainium located?”, “When was Brainium Infotech founded?”, or “what services does Brainium provide?”, etc.

As per Google, 65% of all voice search queries are now delivered in a conversational manner.

So, people are now not asking “Digital Marketing Services” instead they are asking “Who offers the best Digital Marketing Services?”

I must say that voice searches are driving the better content forward which is resulting in increased web traffic and higher retention.

With the rise in voice search, the search engines are turning into answer engines. The fundamental of voice search is to provide a prompt answer, not just a result, to the user’s query.

So, the main focus for SEO and Digital Marketers are now to ensure the provision of credible information that search engines can easily process and use in providing answers efficiently.

What People are Searching for with Voice Search?

People are getting more and more comfortable with voice assistants, and they are now using it as a part of their daily routine.

Google says that 72% of people who own a voice-activated speaker say that their devices are often used as part of their daily routine.

As voice assistants are getting smarter every day, these percentages are on the rise, especially in finding local businesses and ordering online products.

How to optimize Website and Content for Voice Search?

By now, you must have already got the idea of why and how voice search is growing. The next inevitable question now comes up, “How do I optimize my website and content for voice search?”

Lets us see some key points which can help you do it.

Think Like a Human

Before you start the optimization process, you must understand how we (humans) speak. Think how would you speak to search for something using a voice assistant.

The voice assistants are used by human beings (at least till now), so you must keep into account how they converse and ask questions. Prepare your content accordingly.

Consider the semantic differences in queries between when people type and when people speak and then do the keyword research.

Keep it Mobile-friendly

Google has officially stated that mobile-friendly websites are much more likely to rank higher than the ones that aren’t.

A majority of voice searches happen on smartphones, and if your website and content don’t do well on mobile devices then, you are going to lose a lot of points.

Keep the Loading Time as Little as possible

Users don’t like to take the ‘patience-test’ while looking for answers.

You must optimize your website and content to load faster and let the voice assistant do its job smoothly.

Create Featured Snippets

Search engines like Google are most likely to pull out featured snippets and read it out with the respective sources. So, optimizing your content for featured snippets is a must if you want to do well with voice search.

You can check out various queries that lead users to your content and create snippets around them.

Conclusion

The voice search industry is expected to cross $600 million by the end of 2019.

So, while it is the best time to start investing in this and capitalize the opportunity, it is also very important to do it the best way possible to boost your profits and add value to the overall purpose of this technology.

Do let us know what you think in the comments section below.