Speak Up: How to include voice search marketing in your overall strategy

Make your digital marketing campaign more mobile-friendly and tailored toward voice search marketing which is taking a larger share of search traffic…

You’ve almost certainly used some type of voice assisted technology within the past few years. Whether as a navigational aid while driving, to run a smart house, or as a virtual office assistant, there’s no denying the fact that voice-assisted technology and now voice search marketing has changed the landscape of how we live our personal and professional lives today.

In fact, estimates are that slightly more than 4 billion digital voice assistants were used on devices throughout the world in 2020, which are estimated to reach 8.4 billion units by 2024. And  there are approximately 110 million users of such devices, just in the United States.

Given the increase in the use of this technology, it should not be surprising to also see an increase in the number of searches being conducted via voice-enabled devices. Google found that approximately 20% of searches are done using this type of technology.

Differences between voice search and text search

Voice search technology uses speech recognition software to identify what the user is saying and then translates it into a search that is then provided to the user. However, there are some distinct differences between a voice search and a text search.

A voice search will be much more conversational and natural in tone than a text search. It may also be longer compared to a text search. For example:

• Where is the nearest pizza place to me that delivers? – voice search
• Pizza delivery within two miles – text search

Tailor your keywords for voice search marketing

If you are looking to optimize voice searches, think about longtail keywords, which are designed to capture the conversational nature of voice searches. Such keywords will tend to be longer than standard SEO keywords, which are based off text queries.

Longtail keywords, as seen in the example above, are also often answers to specific questions that are posed in voice searches. One way to incorporate answers to these questions is to incorporate them into your existing website content.

For example:

• Blog posts discussing your menu of services
• A contact page with your location, address, phone number, email, and social media links
• A FAQ page with common questions asked about chiropractic care

In other words, the more specific your content can be, the more likely that it will be able to come up in response to voice searches.

Think locally

It should come as no surprise that the majority of voice searches are done locally, and on mobile devices. One marketing survey discovered that 56% of voice searches are conducted on smart phones. The same study also found that 46% of voice search users were looking for local businesses. If you decide to capture some of that market, you will need to look at how to make your digital marketing campaign more mobile-friendly and tailored toward voice search marketing. Some ways in which to do this might include:

• Redesigning your website to be more mobile-friendly
• Improving your website’s loading time
• Partner with complementary local businesses, such as yoga studios or health food stores, to promote each other

No matter how you look at it, our society is becoming faster paced, with greater mobility. The use of voice assisted technology, including voice searching, is part of that shift toward connectivity. Incorporating voice search marketing into your digital marketing planning will help you stay abreast of this rapidly changing shift in online technology.