Voice search has become the new hot topic in marketing and content creation

It’s the new tech on the block that is very quickly making its way into our homes. The concept of voice search has been floating around for a while now, but it’s only been recently that the technology has become what the mass consumer market not only wants, but needs it to be.

The voice search technology is constantly developing

It’s becoming smarter as it gets fine-tuned to deliver exactly what customers want. This has brought changes to many homes by making everyday processes easier, but it also means that online businesses have to change with the times.

Voice search makes things simple for the customer

In many ways simple for a business as well – if you aren’t at the top of search engines then you’re not going to get seen or heard. This new form of search puts even more importance on being in the number one spot on search engines and practicing good SEO marketing.

For every voice search performed it’s one less written search

Voice technology doesn’t work in quite the same way when it comes to SEO. To prepare for the inevitable future of this oral search advancement, now is the time to learn everything that you can about this technology and just what it means for the future of your business.

THE FACTS AND STATS OF VOICE SEARCH TECHNOLOGY

From the capabilities of voice search to how the tech is used now and potentially in the future, the infographic below covers the facts and stats that you need to know.

We’ll also cover the essential ‘takeaways’ so you know just what your business needs to stay on top of the changing technology and come out all the better for it!

Read on to learn more about game-changing voice search technology…

THE VOICE SEARCH TAKEAWAYS

This type of search isn’t going to take over the full market of online searches tomorrow, but by 2020 it’s expected to claim a 50% share of searches online. Shopping related searches are already an immensely popular use of voice search devices, especially when it comes to deals and promotions. Use of the technology is on the rise, but what does that mean for marketing and content creation?

Put simply, to accommodate the hands-free simplicity of this kind of search and the differences between spoken queries and written queries, online content needs a complete overhaul.

To stay on top of the advantages , marketing online has to be relevant and easily processed by the technology. Creating content is a little different to creating content for text search, and there are some important changes that will need to be implemented into many marketing strategies.

Landing the featured snippet spot is important (responsible for 40.7% of answers)

Answers to questions need to be concise (normal voice search answer is 29 words)

Web pages need to load much faster (4.6 seconds for the average voice search)

Content needs to be a lot longer to rank for voice search (2,312 words per page on average)

Mobile optimisation is vital (88% of ‘near me’ searches are performed on mobile)

A top three spot on search engines is essential (responsible for 74.9% of results)

FAQ sections need to be well-designed (responsible for 2.68% of results)

Web pages need to be HTTPS secured (70.4% of first-page Google results)

Natural language and keywords are important (searches aren’t limited to 10 words)

Content needs to be engaging and very sharable (44 tweets and 1199 Facebook shares on average per result)

All arrows are pointing towards voice search having a thriving future and replacing a large percentage of searches and customer queries. It’s now down to each business as to whether they want to make use of this new way of searching and start optimising their marketing to fit the changing needs of consumers.

If you want to know more about voice search and how it might impact your business read this other piece on voice search is the future of marketing