How Voice Search Will Impact SEO In 2020

In this technology evolving world, voice recognition technology is another of those technologies that recently caught the attention of many people around the world.

By 2020, we can expect more than 30% of all website session to be conducted without a screen.

Mind-blowing! Isn’t it?

Keeping this evolving technology in mind, we can assume that voice search will have a significant impact on SEO in 2020.

When Apple launched Siri, a few years ago, only a few users took advantage of the feature – less than 15%, according to an Intelligent Voice Survey.

In recent years, however, voice technology became more popular and numbers changed drastically. Today, 55% of teens and 40% of adults are using voice search and recognition.

What Is Voice Search?

Voice search allows a user to speak into a device and find answers for his query. Typing long queries can take a significant amount of time and effort. In contrary to typing, voice search makes a person’s job easy and quick.

Audio technology uses speech recognition to understand what a person is asking for. The results are then delivered orally to the user.

For example, you can use Google’s voice search tool to learn about it further.

All you have to do is to click the microphone icon on the search bar.

Then you get a few seconds to speak and give your query. Make sure you speak clearly through the microphone, in order to get accurate results.

Is Voice Search Accurate?

Indeed, it is not 100% accurate yet. But the voice recognition error has shown a significant improvement and error rate has declined from 20% to 5.5%. 

However, some people still feel that voice search is not the right choice. Particularly, when you search for a short keyword, you may not get 100% accurate results. That’s the reason why some people are still reluctant to switch from a typical search-by-type to voice search.

Can Voice Search Bring Traffic To Your Website?

Now, with voice search getting popular, how much will it impact SEO?

In the SEO world, we get behind the eyeball of a common man and think how would he type a particular query. But when it comes to voice search, human behavior can change.

For instance, he writes a query ” where can I find the best pizza in Chicago”. 

But when the same user uses voice recognition to search for it, he may simply say ” best pizza near me”. These minor changes can have a significant impact on SEO.

Surely, an intelligent SEO strategy for voice recognition can bring huge traffic to your website. It all depends on how well you can peer inside the minds of your targeted audience.

How To Optimize For Voice Search

After all, Google is just a search engine. So it sees things from a different angle, as compared to humans.

From playing a song to purchasing a product, no matter what your intentions are, Google has the same algorithm to rank sites. Voice search optimization might vary from traditional optimization, because of two different human behaviors.

Here are a few effective tips to improve your voice searching rankings:

Identify The Purpose

Understanding the purpose of voice search is crucial for appropriate SEO. 

An adult may use voice search for finding the traffic-free road for his commute to home.

On the other hand, a teenager may use it to know movie timings ,the best gym in his town, best restaurant near him, etc.

To satisfy diverse users, you need a strategy that will work for each of them. That’s the key to SEO for voice recognition. You must have modicum of an idea how a particular user would search for a certain query. The idea revolves around the same thing ” get behind the eyeballs of your targeted audience”.

Use Question Phrases

When it comes to voice search, you must create terms that the user is most likely to utter. Unlike traditional search, users mostly use voice search when they are in a hurry. Use question phrases like “How can I fix my laptop”, ” who is the president of USA”, ” Who is the prime minister of UK”, etc.

For instance, you want to hire a cab. You would look for minimum words, to call it, instead of saying a bunch of lines. 

Keep your search terms of minimum words and simple. Question phrases are the common search terms, which is why, where, what and how.

Another effective strategy is to create a question and answer sheet on pages for your targeted audience. In this way, your user will get instant solution for his/her query or need. Google keeps such pages at the top of search results.

Write As You Are Speaking

This is the most critical part of optimization for voice search. Be diligent while writing your question phrases. Think of different phrases a person may utter to search his query. 

This is completely different from keyboard search. People tend to use informal words, plain vocabulary, and quick phrases while searching by voice.

If you write ” How can I fix Ram of my computer when its not working. Should I take it to the repairer or buy a new one?”, instead of writing ” How can I fix Ram of Computer”, you may not get any traffic on your web, despite the quality of content in it.

Takeaway

As the functionality of the voice search increases and consumers become more familiar with everything they can do with it, it is only going to grow from here. Already, in different parts of the world, people are preferring voice search over keyboard.

In the SEO world, it is expected to bring some significant changes. Along with other ranking factors, voice search will be given priority by Google in ranking factors. Moreover, how your website reacts to voice search will also count in the user experience (UX) of your website. However, one can dominate this area by understanding the behavior of his users and their searching patterns.