Technology is constantly advancing and it’s not going to stop at any point. Advancements will continue to be made to technology into realms of possibility we never thought possible. Just think back 10-15 years ago, did we think there’d be cell phones you could use just like a computer? Exactly, no you didn’t. The same thing goes for technology in the marketing world. Marketing used to be flyers, billboards, and e-mail campaigns. Now it’s evolved into social media, website/app ad space, Google search, and now voice search.

The internet is huge. There’s no way to put into words exactly how big the internet is because, there really isn’t a word to describe it. The internet is it’s own universe. How you utilize your online presence will change very soon as voice searching becomes the new norm.

Voice recognition software is nothing new. Call centers have been using this technology for decades, commonly as an automated receptionist when you call a company. Press 1 for this, 2 for this, etc. However, the technology wasn’t as intuitive as it needed to be. This resulted in many people lacking trust in voice recognition software because it seemed at the time it was more hassle than it was worth, which isn’t wrong. Now, in today’s technological era, this software is making a resurgence and is much more intuitive. Because of this, more people are beginning to utilize the technology, including consumers

 

Do People Actually Use Voice Search?

When you think of voice search, what’s the first tech or platform that comes to mind? Probably Siri right? Guess what, it’s not the only one. Siri is just Apple’s version of this technology. There’s plenty more platforms utilizing voice search including Microsoft (Cortana), Google Search, and Amazon (Alexa). With all these diferent platforms taking part in this technology, it’s opened the doors for millions of people to utilize this technology. In fact, 35.6 million people in the USA use voice search at least once a month, and that was just in 2017. Imagine in 2019 how many people are utilizing this technology. Those are numbers you can definitely chew on.

How Does Voice Search Work?

Voice search works the same as a regular search does except you’re utilizing your voice instead of typing out what you want to search. For example, you can open your Google app and press the microphone, saying what you want to be searched through Google. If i ask what the weather is, Google will instantly tell me my answer. This is much quicker than searching and sifting through search results to find an answer. This is the key component in why voice search will become the way of the future. It provides a quick and easy method for consumers to get information.

Your Keywords Will Change

If you’ve ever done a voice search, think of the question you’re actually asking. When people type into a search bar it’s usually with general phrases like “web development” or “best branding tips”. However, with the ability to utilize voice in your search, these terms are quickly changing to a more conversational way of searching. Instead you may use voice search with terms like “Where would I find the best branding tips?” or “Who is the best web developer in my city”. This is going to drastically change how your keywords are utilized so you can grab the attention of consumers utilizing voice search.

You need to take this into account when building out your SEO. Think of all the different avenues your business could be searched and not just the keywords.

There’s no definitive answer to where voice search will take digital marketing. After all, the technology is still fairly new and can continue to advance beyond our comprehension at this time. One thing we can definitively answer is this technology will certainly disrupt the marketing industry. Digital marketing has been centered around SEO and UX/UI optimization to get your brand to the forefront of the market. However, when there’s no screen people are searching on these go right out the window. When utilizing voice search, the platform will just spit out the first answer that they find. This makes it critical to master this digital marketing landscape.

Expect that Google will soon release sponsored searches for their voice search.