With the rapid advancement of technology, voice search has emerged as a prominent trend that is changing the way people search for information online. Voice search refers to the practice of using voice commands to initiate a search query rather than typing it manually. With the proliferation of smart speakers, virtual assistants, and mobile devices with voice capabilities, voice search has gained significant popularity among consumers. In this article, we will explore the rise of voice search, its impact on businesses of websites like techstarlink.com and marketers, and what you need to know to stay ahead in this evolving landscape.
The Growth of Voice Search
Voice search has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years. The widespread adoption of voice-enabled devices, such as smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod, has fueled the rise of voice search. According to a report by Canalys, the global smart speaker market grew by 137% in 2018, with over 78 million units shipped. By 2022, it is estimated that there will be over 8 billion voice assistants in use worldwide, indicating the growing dominance of voice search in the way people interact with technology.
The increasing popularity of voice search can also be attributed to the advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technologies. Virtual assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana, have become more sophisticated in understanding and interpreting voice commands, making voice search more accurate and reliable. This has led to greater user adoption and increased reliance on voice search for various tasks, such as searching for information, setting reminders, playing music, ordering products, and more.
The Impact of Voice Search on Businesses and Marketers
The rise of voice search has significant implications for businesses and marketers alike. Here are some key ways in which voice search is impacting the business landscape:
Changes in Search Behavior: Voice search has changed the way people search for information online. Unlike traditional text-based search, voice search queries tend to be longer and more conversational in nature. For example, instead of typing “best restaurants near me,” a voice search query may sound like “What are the best restaurants near me?” This shift in search behavior has important implications for businesses and marketers, as it requires them to optimize their content and SEO strategies to align with the conversational nature of voice search queries.
Local Search Optimization: Voice search is often used for local search queries, such as finding nearby businesses, restaurants, or services. According to a study by BrightLocal, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the last 12 months. This means that businesses need to prioritize local search optimization to ensure they appear in voice search results. This includes optimizing their Google My Business profile, creating location-specific landing pages, and using location-based keywords in their content and SEO strategies.
Focus on Featured Snippets: Featured snippets, also known as “position zero” results, are the concise answers that appear at the top of search results in response to a query. With voice search, virtual assistants often read out the featured snippet as the answer to the user’s query. Therefore, businesses and marketers need to focus on creating content that is optimized for featured snippets, as it increases the chances of their content being read out by virtual assistants in response to voice search queries.
Emphasis on Conversational Content: As voice search queries are more conversational in nature, businesses need to create content that is optimized for natural language queries. This includes using long-tail keywords, answering frequently asked questions, and creating content that mirrors the way people talk in everyday conversation.