Voice Search and Why It Matters

It's no secret that search is moving beyond a simple text-driven methodology, and into a more human interactive experience. According to Comsore, 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. That statistic alone should raise an eyebrow and begs the question - As an association, should I truly care about voice search?

Through its early inception, voice search was perceived as a gimmick or a fad. Fast forward to 2019, estimates suggest that over one billion voices are conducted per month according to Apline.AI.

There's a strong likelihood that at some point, you've conducted a voice search or are already a regular user of voice search. This could be through your mobile device or through a physical hub device that was created for human interaction, such as Amazon Echo. The three key players in voice assistants are Google and its Home products, Apple Siri, and Amazon Alexa.

Ultimately, voice search queries are conducted because it allows individuals to multitask easily, find relevant content, and most importantly, provide quick answers to a multitude of questions.

So, should you truly care about voice search and your website? Yes, to a certain extent, but before you embark on a content marketing strategy, think about why someone might conduct a voice search for content on your website as opposed to a direct search engine webpage. When people use voice search on their smart phones or other voice assistant devices, it would be ideal to have your website’s content generated in their results. There's a high probability that individuals want to receive a quick answer to a question as opposed to locating an answer by sifting through content on a webpage.

Here are a few items to consider when structuring your content with voice search in mind;

• Create featured snippets - Google Snippets contain text of informational searches in Google and can help drive traffic towards your site. 
• Ensure that your webpages contain a quick loading time - The average search result through voice search loads in 4.6 seconds.
• Contained answers - Voice search assistants want results that are brief and to the point. You might already have an FAQ on your website, but if you don't, think about creating one. Come up with a list of the most frequently asked questions that your audience will benefit from. For example, how much does it cost to register for an event? Or, how much is a membership?
• Keep it simple - Easy to read content plays a factor with voice search and SEO.

By no means will applying these items guarantee that your website will be prominent through voice search, but it serves as a starting point for your association.

There's no question that voice search is relevant and gaining its popularity regarding human and digital device interaction. Individuals seek quick answers to their question and providing relevant content quickly is important. Voice search is poised to make a significant impact on search, and it's advancing quicker than you know.