

How Voice Search Will Impact Your Content Marketing Strategy

By Stacy Zolnikov | January 31, 2019


The development of speech recognition is a remarkable achievement - one with unfathomable potential and possibilities. Its ability to transcribe and understand the human language appears to be pure magic to many.

But the real change is still yet to come. How we see, perceive and interact with the internet will be changed by voice search in ways we can’t even imagine as we shift away from keyboard and thumb.

We will be talking and listening to our “computers” - forever transforming our experience with technology.

The increase in the use of voice search makes sense - we can be guided with directions while driving, look for instructions while cooking, or hunt for deals while strolling through shopping malls.

And as helpful as it is for us “on the go,” voice search is becoming increasingly popular for those sitting in front of monitors and keyboards as well. The underlying reason is due to speed - searching via voice is 3.7 times faster than typing, and already 25% of desktop searches are done this way.

At this current adoption rate, it won’t be long until voice search becomes the norm for every user.


What is Voice Search?

While an internet search would typically require someone to type their query into the search bar from their computer or mobile keyboard, voice assistants integrated into devices now allow users to speak their search terms instead.

Performing a “voice search” is only one of many tasks a personal voice assistant can help you with. Voice recognition software built into mobile phones, computers, and IoT home devices can make it easier for users to make a call, make an order, or make a note on their devices hands-free.

While these are all interesting (and valuable) capabilities of voice assistants, the rise of voice search is the feature catching marketers’ eyes these days. The technology is beginning to shift how people interact with their search terms, and therefore the web pages and information they find.

If you’re a smartphone user, chances are you’ve used a voice assistant; even if it was on accident. Once again, you’re not alone. In 2015 65% of U.S. smartphone users took advantage of their mobile voice assistants, up from 56% in 2014 and 30% in 2013.

Of these smartphone owners, 57.8% use voice search to look something up online. While voice search is still only the third most popular method for internet searches, behind opening up a mobile browser (85.6%) and using a search engine app (74.2%), it’s still worthy of consideration.


Currently, about 20% of searches on the Google mobile app and Android phones are voice search, and ComScore predicts that by 2020, 50% of searches will be voice searches. Even though voice search isn’t the most popular search method just yet, online search is the second most common use for voice commands with just over 60% of users stating they use the function.

The current top spot for the favorite way to use mobile voice assistants is making a phone call.

Though the wide acceptance and mass consumption of voice-activated devices is a somewhat new trend, speech recognition technologies are not new. In fact, the first virtual assistant was the IBM Shoebox, launched in 1962.

It could recognize 16 spoken words and the digits 0-9. A huge milestone; but due to a device’s need for a microphone to function, growth stagnated and limited the functionality mostly to mobile devices.

But now, voice search has taken place in new devices, most notably, in the form of “smart speakers.” The most popular are Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home. So popular that 65% of owners can’t imagine going back to the days without them.

These virtual assistants now make it easy for users to offload some of the more mundane tasks such as looking up the weather or setting alarms. At its current state, voice search queries typically fall into four categories - 30% general information, 27% personal assistant, 22% local information, and 21% fun and entertainment.


How Does Voice Search Impact Content Marketers?

Voice search captures intent, not just interest. The best way to think about it is search vs. research.

Let’s say you’re planning a trip to Thailand with a group of friends. You’ll most likely want to search the web (and a variety of sources) for the best things to do in Thailand, which cities to fly in and out of, the cost of AirBnB’s vs. hotels, and so on.

This type of research is typically done via traditional typed queries, and for the time being, due to a lack of a user interface with voice, will remain the dominant method.

But, that’s not to say voice search doesn’t play a critical role in nearly every industry. With 36 million Americans using a voice-activated device, every brand needs to implement voice search optimization to be successful.

As a brand, you must understand your user’s intent - not only the questions they are asking but why they are asking it. 

Voice assistants may seem like a novel technology but in fact, they’re making an impact on how people search and find information about companies. Some of these changes in search behavior include:


An increase in “natural language”

People speak a lot faster than they write, and using a voice assistant produces much more natural search terms than before.

For example, typed search phrases may be shorter, more fragmented, and lack “filler” words. With a voice assistant, it’s not uncommon for users to search in full, natural sentences.

An example of a natural language search query is “Who do I call if there’s something strange in my neighborhood?” instead of the typed phrase “strange problem neighborhood”. The answer is obviously Ghostbusters, but the “natural language” term is much closer to what you would hear in a normal conversation.


A growing popularity of question words

Another aspect of natural language are the five “W's” one “H”: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

We use search queries to learn and answer our questions, so it’s only natural these question words appear more in searches as the popularity of voice search climbs.


Longer search queries

Because we speak faster than we type, and natural un-robotic language tends to be longer, search queries are getting longer as well.


Higher click through rates for longer keyword phrases

Websites that are giving customers what they want, i.e. longer keyword queries, are experiencing higher click through rates.


Search queries that are more location specific

Along with natural language, search queries are becoming more location-specific. Phrases such as “what are the best coffee shops near me” help mobile users find and navigate to location-specific businesses while they’re on the go.


How to Optimize Your Content for Voice Search

When it comes to any type of search engine optimization, understanding the user’s intent is of utmost importance. The goal for any search result is to deliver the best results for the end user.

But, unlike traditional text search queries, optimizing for voice search requires a different strategy. Because voice-activated devices only produce one result per query, you need to plan your content marketing strategy entirely based on what your users are asking.


1. Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

If your site is not mobile friendly, then you are already far behind.

Google has already moved its priority to mobile-first index and most people who use voice search, are doing so on their mobile device. Not being mobile-friendly puts you at a severe disadvantage. You can test to see if your site is using Google’s Mobile-Friendly test.

Look to see if your site has tiny text, clickable elements that are hard to decipher and a slew of other issues you should address.

In addition to making your site mobile friendly, you’ll want lightning-fast rendering of your pages. Page speed plays a huge role in voice search SEO with the average voice search results page loading in 4.6 seconds, 52% faster than your average page.

Nothing steers a user away faster than a slow page. Not only will your users get frustrated, but they will most likely navigate away to alternative sites. Do yourself and your brand a favor - make sure your content is responsive.


2. Focus on Local SEO

In the similar vein above, users are typically on the go and searching for something “nearby” or something relevant to their location. In fact, research has found that voice search is three times more likely to be local in nature.

As a business owner, you must claim and keep all your local business listings accurate.

Consumers are searching for business hours, precise location and directions, reviews, costs and so much more. These micro-moments - moments in which users need instantaneous and relevant information - is the winning method to dominate any kind of search, especially voice search.

And because every smart device uses different data sources, you need to make sure you’re on top of all your business listings. Whether it’s unique content pieces or business listings, you want to make sure that when someone is asking their Google assistant, “Where can I get the best coffee in San Francisco?” your coffee shop ranks in that query.

As a marketer or business owner, you must anticipate at which stage your users are most likely to need the services your businesses provide, anticipate the nature of receiving the information they need to make a decision and provide users with the relevant information at the appropriate stage.


3. Employ the Right Structured Data Markup

Google puts an emphasis on structured data markup for an important reason - it makes it possible for Google to understand the data/information on the page.

This is critical for any type of SEO but even more so for voice search optimization. Structured data can be in the form of schema or JSON (preferred) and is not visible to your users. It is code that’s only visible to search engines and tells them what your data means.

For example, if you have a blog on your website, you can set up your schema to show Google and other search engines the structure of your blog - that each post is an article, who the author is, date it was published, and additional relevant information.

With the right structured data, search engines can confidently decipher the content on your page, removing any need of guesswork and ensuring only the most relevant options for users.


4. Use Relevant Long-Tail Keywords

Keywords always have and will forever continue to play a huge role in SEO. In fact, 70% of all web searches are conducted using long-tail keywords. And its importance to typed queries is just as important to voice search. However, the way they play a role is shifting.

Think about how voice-activated technologies are used. Whether you’ve ever actually used one or not, it’s not difficult to imagine how one interacts with a digital assistant. It’s much more how we communicate as human beings.

We don’t just say a few keywords to one another; we ask the full question - “What is the weather like in San Francisco this week?” versus “weather San Francisco, CA” in traditional typed search queries.

As a content marketer, you’ll want to shift from awkward keywords that are typically typed on keyboards to long-tail phrases or even entire sentences.

In your content, you’ll want to incorporate 3-4 words that are much more precise than general terms. Sit down with a pen and paper to brainstorm the questions one might ask about your industry/business.

If you include these longer keywords in your content, you’ll notice an increase in engagement.


5. Write The Right Content

Deciding which type of content to write is already a huge pain for content marketers.

Not only do you have to consider the type of content to produce based on the stage your buyers are in, but you also have to focus on ensuring people see your content. And now, with the growth of voice search, you have to ensure that your content is heard. As mentioned before, the most important consideration to factor into all your content is your user’s intent.

Remember, Google and other search engines are in the business of delivering the best results to their users. Ask yourself if the content you provide answers any popular questions within your industry.

Aside from having a standard blog, you can also add FAQ pages - implementing the exact question, keeping natural language in mind, users would typically ask their voice assistant.

The great thing about FAQ pages is they are an easy way to incorporate both the long-tail and conversational keywords voice search bots look for. For example, integrating “Mexican food” throughout your restaurant website is too vague for a voice search bot to decipher. When users are utilizing voice search to find Mexican food restaurants, they will typically ask for something specific, such as “What taquerias deliver past 9pm to San Bruno?”

This is where FAQ’s serve as a gold mine.

You can take it a step further and expand each question into a more in-depth blog post. In turn, these pages help you get your content featured in a rich snippet or an Answer Box. 

A featured snippet is also known as answer box or quick answers or position zero. It is essentially a summary answer from a web page. To do this well, you’ll have to understand what questions are most asked.

For more ideas on long-tail terms, look at the bottom of a search result page for the “Searches related to” section. These terms are terms users actually search for - Google is essentially giving you free keyword suggestions to implement. Add these terms to your content and dive further by clicking into each one and looking at those suggested terms.

Bonus Tip: optimize your phrases even further and more localized by adding “near me.”


Optimizing Your Content for Voice Search: Closing Thoughts

Only time will tell how popular voice search becomes, but its growing adoption rates suggest the trend is here to stay for a while. There’s no reason to abandon all current SEO strategies for the shiny new toy that is voice search, but it is important to recognize and begin to adapt to this change.

With 5 million people in the United States actively using digital assistants, your brand can’t afford to miss out on the potential to be heard.

To optimize for search and voice engines, you need to communicate what your business and brand are all about in a language that caters to the user and search engines.

This means incorporating natural language and conversational tone in the text, but also a comprehensive and organized data markup for search engines.

As with all types of optimization, your goal is to establish credibility, prove domain and expertise, and develop trustworthiness with users and search engines alike.


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Topics: Content Marketing

Stacy Zolnikov

Written by Stacy Zolnikov

Stacy is the CEO and Co-founder of TruleYours, the byproduct of a 5-year dream and 100+ pivots aiming at solving the fashion industry's “fit problem." As a software developer, she loves solving problems and strategizing business growth.