“Hey, Alexa! What’s the phone number to Best Buy?”
“Hey Google! What time does the pharmacy close?”
“Hey Siri! What’s the address to a car wash near me?”
There are many different types of questions you can directly ask a voice-enabled device that will utilize search results to provide answers but how does this relate to a local business? It is estimated that by 2020, nearly half of all searches will be a voice search. If your online assets are not optimized for voice search, you will eventually lose out on roughly 50% of searches!
Here are a few facts about voice search in its current state of usage:
- 40% of adults utilize voice searches at least one time per day*.
- According to Google, 20% of all mobile searches are by voice*.
- 3 months after Windows 10 launched, 33% of searches were coming from voice*.
*Source: https://socialtriggers.com/voice-search/
The question that SMBs (small/medium sized businesses) should have is, “How can we keep our company relevant and optimized for voice searches?” We have a few suggestions that could help as voice searches become more utilized by consumers.
- Keep your Google Business Listing up to date. The Google Business listing might be the most important asset a company has online. It provides vital information such as address, phone number, business hours and other information that Google shows in traditional search results and is now utilizing the data in listings to respond to voice searches.
- Utilize long-tailed keywords on your website. Long-tailed keywords are keyword phrases that are 3-4 words. They are more specific compared to 1-2 word keyword phrases. Say, for example, that a person is searching for furniture. Most people are not going to just be searching for furniture in general but rather for more specific furniture items such as “kids bedroom furniture”. When adding long-tail keywords to your site, it is important to try to keep in mind how an average person would search for specific goods or services.
- Have a mobile-friendly website. Since many voice searches are performed on mobile devices, it is recommended that you have a very mobile-friendly version of your website. This not only includes the content but also the speed at which the page loads. The average voice search results page loads 52% faster than the average web page. Customers want results and they don’t want to wait for them.
As search engines in general continue to evolve, it is fair to say that voice search will evolve as well. If your SMB is not prepared, you could risk being left out of search results in the future. If you would like to consult with our team regarding voice search or any other digital advertising needs, send us a message and we will be happy to help!