If some experts are to be believed, in a few years' time all keyboards can be thrown in the bin. After all, most searches will no longer be done via keyboard, but will be carried out by hurried smartphone users who shout busily at their mobiles. The future of online search therefore lies in the hands of voice search.
The changes
In itself, this is quite logical, because why fiddle around on a small keyboard when you can do it by speaking words? Just pick up a Whatsapp conversation of someone you are in daily contact with. Chances are there are a whole bunch of audio messages in there. The same need for speaking words instead of typing them out word-by-word is now increasingly seen in online searches. In fact, technological developments in this area are happening a lot faster than we all think. No wonder players like Apple and Samsung have each come out with their own assistants listening to the affectionately named Siri and Bixby.
It may be exaggerated a bit, but some experts say that in two years, half of searches will be voice-driven. So does this mean an immediate death sentence for online marketing? No, anything but. Because where there are new developments, there are also new opportunities. After all, voice search means we can ask Google questions even more easily, but using a completely different approach. And for online marketers, that therefore automatically means a different path to follow. Which one exactly? We'll tell you all about it.
What is voice search?
Searching for information used to be done mainly in books. After the advent of the internet, Google also made its appearance and searches increasingly moved to the Google search bar. Searching for info now went online and did so by typing out words. Initially, this was done using awkwardly long sentences, but in the past few years we have become more and more comfortable with this. Concise search terms now ensure that we find the information we want. While this way of searching for information is still in development, a new trend has already emerged: that of voice search. Whereas you normally use a keyboard to type in your search query, voice search allows you to speak your questions with your voice. Because talking is a lot faster than typing, voice search is fast, easy and (for the most part) hands-free.
Answers often still land on your screen, but some online assistants offer voice responses in addition. Voice search commands are still mainly carried out on smartphones, but complete voice-controlled devices for home use are also in development. Not everyone will have one in their home yet, but Google Now, Siri, Amazon Echo and Cortana are the names of the digital assistants we can already use. It has to be said, however, that these devices are still in development. Therefore, many of these home devices are still very error-prone and can only be operated in English. But with the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), voice searches and their answers will get better and better.
Artificial Intelligence
The aim of AI is quite simple: the answers should get better as it goes along, because there is a continuous learning process. The more searches that are done by voice, the better it works. Thanks to the integration of AI, digital assistants and online search engines learn from every question posed to them. As a result, you may find that after 10 queries you still don't get an answer about a new topic about which little is known, but on the 11th time you may just hit on it.
To real human language
We reported above that online searches were quite clumsy at first. Just give your grandpa or grandma your phone and have them type in a search query via Google. Chances are a full sentence will be typed in instead of a few keywords. For voice searches, we go back a step in that respect. In fact, we (often) pronounce full sentences again, because this is simply the way we have the questions in our heads. In addition, we can pronounce words much faster than typing them out, so we lose less time. So basically, we are doing exactly what grandparents do, but with our voice. Search intent is also different now. With voice search, many questions are asked starting with: what, where and how. This puts the emphasis on so-called long tail keywords. And that also means search engine optimisation is changing.
Digital assistant
Have you ever talked to your own digital voice assistant? If so, you've probably asked a trivial question to see what the answer would be. Digital assistants like the well-known Siri and Bixby get the craziest questions thrown at them. But what turns out? They are getting better at it. For instance, Siri and Bixby can both come up with extremely surprising answers. Chit-chat conversations are becoming more cosy, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are actually there to serve you. But it is precisely in that entertaining that the opportunities for assistants lie. After all, we learn to appreciate voice search so much because we see Siri and Bixby as real assistants. And as with any assistant in the workplace, that includes the occasional joke. With frequent contact, things should get especially personal.
Where are we now?
Looking at the applicability of voice search at the moment, more and more software is using voice search integrations. For instance, it is integrated into Google Chrome, further boosting its use by the search engine. At the same time, we also see that the implementation of Artificial Intelligence is paying off: voice recognition software is getting smarter and smarter, and some 92% of search queries are recognised. And where there is more recognition, search results are better and frustration is less. In 2016, 20% of global searches were performed using voice search. In our country, this was significantly lower: just over 6% of searches were voice-oriented. What will not be very surprising is that it is mainly young people who use voice search. After all, for this group, modern technologies are much more normal and therefore the adoption rate is also a lot higher than for other age groups.
What does it mean for SEO?
Longtail search terms
Because our voice is virtually inexhaustible, we are more likely to ask complete queries instead of listing a few keywords. These searches move away from short tail search terms that are between 1 to 3 words and more often opt for long-tail search terms of 4 or more words. As an online marketer, on a textual level, it means that you can incorporate literal queries. Provide valuable content that has depth and also take into account people's speaking behaviour.
Readability
However, that does not mean you should completely forget about Google's algorithm. The information does need to remain readable, for both the reader and Google itself. That means short sentences that are easy to read. In terms of formatting, you should use paragraphs, bold words and transition words (such as 'first of all', 'secondly', 'then'). An easy-to-read font also helps. Easy enough.
Daily language
Keep it nice and informal. Talking and writing are two separate subjects and when we talk to our phones we keep it as simple as possible. For online marketers, it means that content should adapt accordingly by avoiding tricky words. The same goes for jargon. For you, specialist terms may be the most normal thing in the world, but for others it may cause a lot of questioning. Make sure everyone understands you.
Understand search intent
The majority of people search (on their keyboards) with two or three keywords. For search engines like Google, that in itself is hard enough to have to understand. After all, just try to figure out search intent based on a few keywords. After all, what exactly do we want with a 'professional camera Maastricht'? Do we want to rent one, buy one, sell one, or just want to know prices or read reviews? It could go in just about any direction, but Google has already learned by now that someone most likely wants to buy a professional camera and in the city of Maastricht. With longer searches, this already becomes a lot clearer and the same goes for voice search: you ask your question and that's it. Google then dishes out the answer.
You can take users' search intentions into account on your website, too. In doing so, try to get inside the head of your target audience. A simple way to do this is to get hold of Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools. This will immediately give you a lot of information on whether the landing page matches the search terms, for example. Actually, this does not change anything you are currently doing (if all goes well) during your SEO activities. Nevertheless, with all the current developments, the data will look very different in a few years from now. Make sure you take that into account.
Micro-moments
We mentioned it above, but what is particularly noticeable is that we are moving towards ever larger searches. While we try to save as much time and effort as possible while typing, this is no longer a problem in voice search. As a result, searches are much more extensive than before. Let us explain this with an example:
Imagine walking around Utrecht and looking for a place to have a good cup of coffee. You fancy a strong espresso, because fatigue is already setting in. You grab your smartphone and type in 'Koffiebar' followed by 'Utrecht'. Two words, nothing more, you're in a hurry. Barely half a second later, you know where to go.
Now we are doing the same, but based on voice search. You grab mobile again and say, 'OK, Google'. Good morning, where can I find a coffee shop nearby? Another half-second and you know where to go.
How to interpret
The idea in this example is quite straightforward, because in both cases you are looking for exactly the same coffee shop, but simply adjust your way of searching. Because the second search contains much more content (7 words compared to 2), it is important for the search engine to interpret the search correctly. In learning to understand the changing keywords, it is important to understand the search intent. That search intent is also referred to as micro-moments with voice search users. These moments, in turn, can be divided into four different forms:
- Finding out something.
- Wanting to go somewhere (place).
- Wanting to do something.
- Wanting to buy something.
Mapping these moments of your target audience for yourself will help you understand what answers they want to see. Based on that, you can do two things: (1) you adjust the content or (2) you add new content that specifically targets these voice search users.
Fighting for spot 1
We all know what the search results page looks like. It may change constantly in layout, but depending on the number of ads displayed, there are usually around 7 organic results per page. For many online marketers, being on this first page is already a goal in itself. With voice search, though, you will have to try harder. Because when the user enters a question, he no longer gets an overview. There is only one answer, or one result. In the speech-driven world, only place number one counts. So as an online marketer, you will have to strive for the highest possible result.
What does it mean specifically for link building?
Quality links are still the holy grail for any webmaster. Taking care of good content is obviously a noble endeavour, but it's of pretty little use if no links point to it and it therefore doesn't get read. While you are working hard to adapt your content to the developments of voice search, you will also have to continue link building. The difference with the traditional form of link building is that you would do well to focus even more on video content. Maybe you already have a list of parties you work with more often or maybe you already have an idea of websites that share a lot of video content anyway. Don't know? Then you have a handy way to find out whether your intended link partners share a lot of video or not. For convenience, let's call the targeted partner videolinkpartner.co.uk. In that case, search for it via google:
'Site: www.videolinkpartner.nl'. Next, you note the number of search results. Then you search on 'site: www.videolinkpartner.nl "video" ' and again note the number of results. Take both results and divide the number of results with video by the site's total number of search results. Does a reasonable percentage come out of this arithmetic? Then surely this would be a good link partner to post videos. Approach sites like this and distribute videos.
What does it mean for your content?
Content is important to both attract people and ultimately win them over. After all, they appear on your site because your content matches their search query. Once visitors are on your website, you also want them to keep their attention. That means you need to provide valuable content that manages to captivate. People buy products not only for their specifications, but also for the accompanying text. Therefore, provide a story that piques interest and makes sure people are convinced. After all, you buy an air conditioner so that your home stays nice and cool and you can sleep well at night. Focus on that and come up with all the technical specifications later.
Local optimisation
It is a recognisable situation: many people look up information quickly when they are on the move. Imagine walking down a busy shopping street, having your hands full, and also being in a hurried mood: voice offers a handy solution in such cases. Many people who are away from home and perform a search on their mobile are looking for local information. Actually, this point is not that much different from how to optimise for mobile users in general. So make sure your business is findable (via Google My Business) and optimise your landing pages by including your city name and other address details. Be where your potential customers would like to see you.
Quick answers
So-called quick answers are also increasingly displayed when searching for recipes, overviews, or address details, for example. Displaying this often concise answer does not even require visiting the website. However, it does underline the importance of being targeted when it comes to listing address details.
Frequently asked questions
Because searches are mostly done on the aforementioned micro-moments, it is important to respond to them. You do this, for instance, by having a Frequently Asked Questions page. This page should be formatted with question words such as who, what, why, when, where and how. By incorporating relevant questions and answers in colloquial language, you increase the chance of voice searches arriving at your information and thus referring to your website.
Snippets
The use of snippets will also become increasingly important. Like quick answers, they aim to provide quick and clear answers. The beauty of this is that, in this case, the answers are spoken by the device used. A snippet is thus read out to the searcher as an answer just like voice search itself. It is important to note that these snippets are shown at the zero position. From this, we can conclude that Google thus considers snippets to be the most important recommendation. It is therefore crucial to incorporate featured snippets into your SEO plan.
Video background: not a good idea
Automatic background videos displayed across the entire width of the page is more disruptive than optimising. Because if two things are done in this kind of situation, it is (1) pressing the stop button as quickly as possible, or (2) angrily pushing the entire page away. Of course, it is true that some users would rather listen than read, but keep in mind the location and file format of the video. Therefore, avoid a video background on the homepage, as well as videos that are too heavy and those that play automatically. Let the visitor decide whether they want to watch the video.
It is about the visitor
Let one thing be clear: everything is about the visitor rather than what you want to impose. With that knowledge, open a website of an average petrol station. These are often full of information, but all people really want to know is what the fuel price is and where the nearest station is located. Many petrol station sites fall short in this regard. Fortunately, by simply putting yourself in the visitor's shoes, that can change a lot from now on. Do the same and ask yourself what is the purpose of the visitor visiting your website.
Interview-style
Moving to the visitor can be done in many ways. As a practical example, we named to include a Frequently Asked Questions page with matching answers. Another possibility is to write in an interview style. That means answering the most important questions in a clear and, above all, comprehensive way. This differs from the FAQ page that tries to be as clear as possible with as few words as possible. By adopting the so-called interview style, you go into more depth. You can, for instance, choose to regularly come up with blogs structured in this way. Again, the content should adapt to the user. In other words, what would your visitors like to know? Once you've figured that out, then it's time to provide the relevant information. All so that you are seen as an authority. Both by the visitor and by Google.
Are you ready?
Do you want to capitalise on the potential of voice search? Our SEO professionals follow developments closely and will be happy to help you. Visit contact at for more information.
