Voice Search is becoming increasingly important within E-commerce. What exactly is voice search and what do we need to consider? In this article you can read all about voice search and how to adapt your SEO strategy accordingly.

What exactly is Voice Search?

When using Voice Search, you provide a spoken query to a search engine. This can be done, for example, directly in your Chrome browser or in your personal assistants such as Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana (Microsoft) and Alexa (Amazon). The development of this technology is going very fast and more and more devices are being added that can be controlled by voice.

There are plenty of opportunities for users to do something with Voice Search. It is becoming more and more popular and we also notice it being used more and more in our immediate environment. The actual numbers are impressive.

The Future of Voice Search

Google announced in 2014 that about 55 percent of American teens between 13 and 18 years old use Voice Search daily. During the 2018 Google keynote, Google's CEO indicated that 20 percent of searches via the mobile app and Android devices were initiated by Voice Search. At that time, that was 10 billion voice searches per month. Research has shown that about half of these searches are done from home. The rest are on the go (e.g., in the car).

Comscore expects that about half of all searches by 2020 will be through Voice Search. This growth is partly due to the fact that voice recognition is getting better and better. The error rate at Google, for example, is currently only 8%, down from 25% two years ago. IBM Watson currently has an error rate of 5.5% and they are aiming for 5.1% because people miss one to two words out of every 20 words they hear. So at an error rate of 5.1 percent, you are on the same level as two people talking to each other.

Voice search is different from a typed search

There are big differences between a typed and a spoken search Therefore, you should start taking this into account in your SEO strategy as well.

1. Use of question words
A spoken search often contains question words such as who, what, which, where, when, how, with what, of what and how much. When we type a query into Google, the search is often short and to the point. With Voice Search, a complete, natural question is asked as you normally would.

2. More long-tail keywords
Searches are getting longer as a result of the previous point. Where you would normally type in 'weather Eindhoven' you now get 'what is the weather in Eindhoven'.

3. Context and intent
Spoken language makes the context and intent of a search much clearer. In a search for "inkjet printer," you have no idea of the search intent; do I want to buy one, have one repaired, am I looking for images, cartridges, reviews et cetera. Using more natural language makes it easier to figure out the context and intent of the user.

4. Local
Voice search is widely used on mobile, such as on the road in the car. Voice searches are three times more likely to be local than typed searches.

5. Increasingly one answer
Given the increasing use of personal assistants and more and more devices without screens, you often get one answer right away. A page with multiple search results (SERP) where you can choose a result yourself is no longer an option. Less and less actions and steps are needed to find what you are looking for.

An appropriate SEO strategy for Voice Search

With Voice Search, the way of searching is different from typed searches. In order to respond to developments around Voice Search, it is important to adjust your SEO strategy as soon as possible.

1. Update your search term research
With the combination of question words and long-tail search terms, it's a good idea to update your keyword research accordingly. Keep the spoken context in mind and consider how people talk about your company, services or products.

2. Write appropriate content
With your search terms as a foundation, write appropriate content. By doing this now, you can actively work on your ranking, which will only become more valuable later as Voice Search grows. Also consider adding a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) to your website. Because these contain question words, this content also contributes to the next point: featured snippets.

3. Featured snippets
A featured snippet is third-party content displayed in Google at the top of the results page that contains the answer to the search query. A featured snippet thus takes up a lot of space and provides high visibility. With a spoken search query, there is a good chance that a personal assistant is going to provide this answer to the user. So go right ahead with featured snippets by answering a question and using microdata.

4. Rich snippets
Rich snippets are additions to the standard results that enrich a search result with additional information and therefore stand out better. It helps the search engine determine relevance and a higher click through rate (CTR). Examples include stars (reviews), breadcrumb trail display, events, videos, recipes and so on.

5. Location-based SEO
Many voice searches are location-based. For example, people search for a garage or a good restaurant nearby. Voice search puts even more focus on local SEO. This involves optimizing your website by including as much information as possible about the location of your business. When people are nearby or search on your location, your website will rank higher.

6. Give Bing attention, too
Google dominates as a search engine for desktop and mobile. But did you know that Siri, Alexa and Cortana all use Bing as the underlying search engine by default? Google's share is still larger but for Voice Search, it makes sense to include Bing in your rankings analysis as well.

Conclusion

Personal assistants and devices that bring them into homes and businesses are experiencing strong growth. Besides nice features such as music playback or voice-controlled home automation, it is also very useful for navigating and asking questions. This makes it very important that your website is optimized for answering such questions.

Wondering how best to go about this? Contact one of our specialists, we will be happy to help you!