Since the year 2010 only voice search has been introduced in the technologies. First IBM launched Watson in 2010, and then it was followed by Apple’s Siri, Google’s Ok Google, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana.
Now by the year 2020, voice search has set a strong foot in the digital market even though it was back lagged in the years 2017 and 2018. Since its inception, the voice search has grown immensely in the market; the records claim that voice search has taken over 30% of search engine results by 2020 according to Gartner.
Google claims that over 30% of searches can be forecasted to be voice searches due to the massive demand of these smart speakers in the market. Earlier in the year 2020, Jupiter research claimed that since then 3.25 billion voice searches were in use via the voice assistants and now it is forecasted that by 2023, it will reach 8 billion.
The growth rate of voice searches ultimately puts an impact on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and SEO agencies as well. The latest developments in voice search have dropped the frequency of regular search box activities therefore; SEO must have faced the strongest backlash due to its direct relevance with voice searches.
The impacts of recent developments in voice searches on SEO are detailed as follows:
1. Colloquial Language Searches:
Due to improvised voice search devices, people are now getting really used to it. It is noticed that 70% of voice searches are in colloquial or conversational language, just as if they are talking to a human. Therefore, targeting the content depending on the keyword is difficult for SEO practices. The SEO practices now do not suffice at the extent of targeted keywords. And our SEO services are dealing with it.
2. Keyword Length Limits:
The spoken language is not as precise as the written one. Therefore, the search length is recorded to be average 29 words which are only 3-4 words on the written one. Therefore, keyword target was easier in the typed searches but now with the trend of advanced voice searches, word phrases or descriptive phrases are demanded to be targeted. Therefore, voice search restricts the keyword target in the SEO functions.
3. Question Searches:
The record shows that 20% of voice searches only target 25 searches, and often the searches are in question. Google has often been asked for comprehensive questions in terms of how and where. Therefore, the question searches are targeted by voice search and that is the reason for SEO practices to target the content. Targeting the whole question is quite a task for an SEO practice, therefore the traffic under one question keyword is hard to target.
4. Semantic Searches:
The voice search basically works on the semantic search protocol. Unlike lexical search, a semantic search does not look for the literal word to word matches. It basically gets access to the user’s search history, location and keyword spelling differences in order to understand the actual context of the search. This is the advanced development in the voice searches which is now being implemented in applications like Goggle’s RankBrain, Hummingbird, etc. Therefore, with these highly intelligent technologies, the SEO practices are also challenged to compliment the intelligence of technology. If used well, semantic search can be an ace point to the SEO practices.
5. Local Search:
There 60% chances of the user searching the queries related to the nearby destinations. The research shows that over 58% of the searches are related to local businesses. Therefore, the SEO strategies are now required to target and optimize “near me” queries.
6. SERPs:
Over 70% of the voice search queries result in the display of the top 3 websites that depends on the website’s SERP. In the Google queries, 30% of the snippets are added in the Google queries therefore, SEO strategies are required to compliment the Google snippets to rank on the search engines.
Due to these mentioned impacts of developments in voice searches, it is important for SEO experts to adopt effective SEO strategies . The latest SEO strategies that help could with voice searches are as follows:
- Voice searches prioritize quick loading websites therefore the SEO strategies should involve optimized images, compressed data files, responsive web applications and reduced response time
- Optimize the content for long-tail keywords
- Local search volume should be accessed to the target audience