As per Adobe’s survey data released last year, around 48% of consumers are using voice for “general web searches”. Ha! That’s a huge percentage — isn’t it? Well, business owners having web presence should seriously think about optimising their websites for voice searches.
Google Voice Search — What it’s all about?
Google’s voice search is a utility that permits users to search the web using Google through spoken voice commands instead of typing it out. Voice search can be made on mobile and desktop searches. Typically, you’ll see a microphone icon on the right side of the main search field as in below image:
The method to activate and use voice search commands may vary in mobile and desktop; however, the variation is marginal between a regular typed out search query and a spoken voice search. “Near me” searches are no different, as they bring up nearly same search results on a mobile device and a desktop for the same search query.
But yes, there are exceptions — Example: “Users searching for directions to a particular place using a mobile device may get altogether a different SERP than a desktop user, searching for the same information”.
Usually, voice search queries often produce identical results as typed out queries, but it’s simpler and more convenient to speak your query instead of typing it out.
The Hummingbird Update
Google introduced one of the biggest changes to its main algorithm in recent memory just a couple of years ago. This was known as Hummingbird update, and this changed everything on search. The most prominent change was ‘Semantic Search’, which focused on the implied (i.e. understood) meaning of search queries. The Hummingbird update indicated a transition in Google’s capability to understand the intent behind relatively confusing searches and offer users an even better experience.
Google Now & The Future of Search…
Since many years, Google’s voice search has been incorporated into Google Now (Google’s virtual assistant). The blending of Google’s powerful search algorithms with its intelligent NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology is the reason why most people accept that Google Now is importantly spot on and more reliable than other virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana — besides, the latter three is very similar in operation.
Final Thoughts!
Well, voice search in SEO is all set to become more responsive, intelligent and accurate, and decisive especially, in verticals like the consumer electronics marketplace. It doesn’t pose any risk element for marketers, but it’s going to be a fantastic time for the digital world!
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