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The voice search revolution has arrived, and its impact will soon be felt across industries and markets. As digital assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana move from our pockets to virtually every surface in our homes and offices, the adoption of voice search will only accelerate further. As we increasingly turn to our mobile devices for information, apps like Siri have already demonstrated the potential of natural language processing (NLP) on small screens. But with conversational interfaces becoming a viable user experience on connected speakers and other appliances around the home, expect that potential to be unlocked even further in 2022.
In this article, we will explore:
Voice search is the process of using natural language to find information and services on the web or your app. This is different than using text search which involves typing in keywords and using Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT to narrow down your search results. With voice search, you simply speak your search terms, and the system will respond with results and/or an action based on your query. Voice search is a growing industry trend for obvious reasons. First, it’s a hands-free interface, so you don’t have to look at your phone to use search. Second, you can use it anywhere—not just in front of a computer. And finally, the technology has come a long way in recent years, so voice search results are often just as accurate as text search.
The search market is massive, and it only continues to grow. In fact, it’s expected that it will become a $100 billion industry by 2020, with mobile accounting for $50 billion of that. This is just one of many industries that will be disrupted by voice search. There are many reasons why voice search will be a game changer. Let’s take a closer look at a few.
– Voice interfaces are more natural than typed text. The way we speak, the way we ask questions, and the way we express ourselves are fundamentally different from the way we type text. We speak our thoughts aloud, and when it comes to interacting with computers, a voice interface can be more intuitive and seamless.
– A voice interface can be hands-free. This is particularly important for mobile devices, where typing is a cumbersome process. It also has the potential to be safer as well, as you won’t have to look at your device or hold it while driving.
– A voice interface can be more accessible. Voice recognition technology has come a long way in terms of accuracy. There are many people with visual impairments who have difficulty typing, but who can easily speak their searches.
– A voice interface can be a real-time feature. It’s more of an advantage for the company providing the voice interface than the user, but it’s still an important factor. Since voice interfaces can be used in real time, it gives them an edge over online search engines that have to compile data over time.
Let’s be clear, voice search isn’t a fad or a passing trend. It’s here to stay and only expected to become a larger part of our daily lives. The adoption of voice search will have a significant impact on how we shop and how businesses are run. It’s important that businesses adapt to the change by optimizing their content and online presence to be easily accessible by voice search.
– More traffic to your site: The number of voice searches is expected to rise, which means that you’re missing out on traffic if your site isn’t optimized for voice search.
– More leads and conversions: More traffic to your site means more potential customers finding your product or service. If your site is optimized for voice search, you can expect to see an increase in leads/conversions from those visitors.
– More brand awareness: If your site is optimized for voice search, it’s likely that more people will be coming across your brand, even if they don’t click through or make a purchase.
The adoption of voice search is inevitable, but there are steps that you can take right now to ensure that your business is prepared for it. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can do to ensure that your business is ready for voice search.
– Make it easy to navigate: Make sure that your site is easily navigable by voice. Visitors will be able to “talk” through your site and move between different sections with ease.
– Make your site mobile-friendly: It’s important to note that many voice assistants are deployed in smart home devices, which are often not mobile devices. Make sure that your site is designed and optimized for desktop, but also usable on mobile devices.
– Make your content “tappable”: Visitors will likely be using their voice to interact with your site, but they’ll still need to be able to tap on links and buttons. If you want to make sure your site is optimized for voice search, make sure that everything is tappable.
The voice search revolution has arrived, and its impact will soon be felt across industries and markets. As digital assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana move from our pockets to virtually every surface in our homes and offices, the adoption of voice search will only accelerate further. There are many reasons why voice search will be a game changer, and it’s important that businesses adapt to the change by optimizing their content and online presence to be easily accessible by voice search. Optimize your website by following the 3 simple tips: Make it easy to navigate, make your site mobile-friendly, make your content “tappable”, and make sure that your site is easily navigable by voice.
As always, if you have questions about how to make your business more accessible to voice-enable devices, like smartphones, tablets, car-dashboards, Alexa-enabled home devices, and myriads of other applications, just drop us a note.
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Evolution Point is a holistic Chicago marketing agency. We grow our clients’ business by developing effective marketing strategies, web and mobile apps, search marketing, social media marketing and advertising.