5 Essential Things You Should Know about Voice Search in 2020

Voice Search was in trend in 2019. The year passed but the trend didn’t. Voice Search is one of the hottest topics in the digital marketing sphere. From Alexa to Siri, the artificial assistants have become widely popular and their users are increasing rapidly.

Take a look at the following statistics from Bradley Shaw:

•    58% of customers have used voice search for finding information about local business last year

•    22% of smart home speaker users have made purchases through the device

•    53% of the smart home speaker owners conduct daily searches through their device

As it has become one of the most influential marketing factors, you should know some vital points about it:

Focus on Conversational Writing

Conversational writing had recently risen in prominence for SEO. But now, it is more important than ever. You’ll have to write as you talk.

While writing conversationally, make sure that you don’t lose your brand voice or personality. Not only us, but industry veterans like Neil Patel are also suggesting you do the same.

Complex words, jargons and long sentences won’t help. In fact, they’ll do the opposite and drive this (voice search) traffic away from your site.

Keep the sentences short and vocabulary simple. Start noticing the differences between your written content and your conversations.

Short-Form Content is back

Yes, short-form content has again risen in importance. People’s voice search queries are usually very specific and they can be answered within a sentence or two.

Short-form content ensures that you answer these queries effectively. People have begun asking questions directly such as:

•    Who is Leonardo DiCaprio?

•    Who is the President of America?

•    Where can I get my hair done?

Make sure that your content has answers to such questions. Your content can have a good FAQ section or multiple keywords with question words. Your blog posts can be based on such content as well.

Note: Don’t think long-form content is irrelevant. It is still vital for SEO. Your short-form content could be a part of your long-form content.

Keep Context in Mind

Your content should provide answers to all the related queries of the topic. Your use of keywords in your content should be centred around their context.

For example, if a person is searching for ‘restaurants around me’, he or she might not use the specific phrase. Instead, that person can use one of the following phrases:

•    Places to eat near me

•    Where can I eat?

•    Restaurants near me

Follow a holistic approach while creating content. Having a good understanding of your audience will help you in making content accordingly.

Have Clear Intentions

When people are using voice search, their intentions are clear. They either want to find information, buy products or visit a website.

To make full use of this feature ensure that the content on your site has clear intent. Your informational content should answer their questions.

For those who want to purchase from you, use local business listing facilities (such as Google My Business and Yelp) to make sure you are easily accessible.

Your users will find these listings if they perform a voice search. Your choice of keywords should be based on use-intent as well.

Voice Search is here to Stay

Lastly, don’t neglect voice search. Even if it’s only a component of online marketing, it is here to stay. The rising popularity of smart home devices and smartphones is aiding its growth.

The number of voice search users is only going to increase in the coming year.

Conclusion

Voice search doesn’t require you to do much. As long as you are creating user-focused and valuable content, you’re good to go.

SEO is about serving your audience and voice search is one of the many technologies which help search engines in doing so.

What do you think of voice search? Share your thoughts.