eCommerce voice search

It’s now acceptable to have conversations with inanimate objects. In fact, last week I was mad when my google home didn’t have a way to say “thank you” to it for turning on my living room lights. What a time to be alive!

Voice search has been gaining popularity for some time and eCommerce businesses are on the cusp of having to embrace this trend. We highlighted this trend of voice search and some of the other biggest trends of the upcoming year in this blog.

Rise of Voice Search 

Voice search as the name implies refers to using your voice as the interacting force with search engines. This is accomplished not only on specialized devices such as Google Nest or Amazon Echo but all contemporary smartphones have these same capabilities.

It’s a digital assistant that fits in your pocket.

How far has this trend really come though? Is it necessary to adjust your eCommerce stores and marketing efforts to take this new method of search engine interactions into account?

It is time to incorporate voice searches into your business strategy.

And it will be more imperative as the year goes on: by end of the year, 50% of all internet searches will be done with voice and in a few more years, 55% of all United States homes will have a smart speaker in them. These same studies are also predicting voice shopping to grow to a $40 billion industry by 2022.

Not putting effort into voice search will hurt your business, but how do you start your voice search optimization? Luckily NuEthic is here to help you with our list of some tips for optimizing for voice search.

Aim for Google Zero

Do you know what’s better than being number one on Google? Beating number one! This is done by becoming one of Google’s featured snippets which are also known as position zero. When it comes to voice searches; snippet positions become more important than ever before. When you reach position zero Google reads the snippet to its voice searcher. Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to get you that coveted snippet spot. However, this article by Marcela De Vivo is a great place to start.

We don’t speak the same way we type

This sounds obvious but it is very important to understand this difference to compete in a new world of voice-driven eCommerce. This move towards voice dominant optimization requires a shift in the content creation and product categories of your eCommerce business.

We have to start treating searches like a conversation.

Not only does this signify a change in eCommerce but a behavioral shift in how we interact with devices; like yelling thank you into a Google Nest. Every day we are interacting more and more with our devices like they are humans and the search optimization for your eCommerce site needs to reflect that.

Don’t be afraid to have a conversational tone in your blogs and remember that users are searching for answers when they are on Google. Write content that answers those questions and make use of long-tail keywords.

Answer questions

Your potential traffic is on Google for answers. Your job is to get them to your site from using trigger words as much as relevant keywords. Ask yourself what your demographic will be asking their digital assistant and then provide that answer. Who, what, when, where, and how are great places to start this conversation.  For voice search, you need to structure keyword research around questions and answers instead of single keywords or phrases. Research competitors and take that into account as well.

Language creates meaning

The strategy to use is one that takes account of the searcher’s context rather than relying on exact words. Search engines are trying to make their responses more human and they have been for some time. They are trying to understand why a searcher is asking something and gear the response as specifically and accurately as possible. The ultimate desired result is a conversation with your search engine that feels like human interaction.

Why does this matter in your SEO strategy? Most importantly and more than ever, you have to provide high-quality value when creating content. Answer questions that are being asked rather than just making sure you are typing the right keywords.   

Know your customer

Knowing your customer should have been a goal since day one of your business. In fact, if you don’t know your customer and you are still in business, message us (link) because I want to know how you’re doing it.

However, knowing your customers is more urgent than ever before because of the voice search. We talked about voice search being more of a conversation but it’s pretty hard to have a conversation when you don’t know the other side of the dialogue.

Research your customer as we talked about in developing brand identity, found here (link). Define your target audience, develop a customer journey map into your marketing strategy, and understand their habits, their problems, and the methods used to solve them.   

The searcher is probably mobile; your site should be optimized for mobile too.

User journey

The journey of voice search to your site may be different than the journey of traditional typed search. Google is going to be tipped to adding voice search metrics to their analytics. Keep an eye out for this news to be released this year because it will happen.

Create Google analytics goals and be prepared to when their voice search metric launches.

This new pattern of voice searches just presents another opportunity to connect with your customers though. Consider the behavior of voice searchers compared to non-voice searchers and plan a journey for them. All the users on your site need to experience a seamless journey from landing page to check out. Think about how to drive voice searches into conversion and create brand loyalty while you’re doing it.

Think local

Mobile voice-related searches are more likely to be locally based. Ecommerce businesses can take advantage of this especially if they have a physical storefront. Make content catering to a local audience. Once you are established in a local market, scaling seems to be a lot easier. You can even base a marketing strategy because of locally sourcing materials for your products.

Future of voice eCommerce

We are talking our way into the future and the convenience of voice search means this new trend will be here for the foreseeable future. It’s already acceptable to ask our digital assistant to play our favorite song, take us to our favorite restaurant (even call to make reservations), and answer our questions. However voice eCommerce, and its forecasted value of $40 billion by 2022, is quickly becoming a necessity instead of an option.

Conclusion

The fundamental shift of behavior in consumers will continue to adapt to new technology and change. As an eCommerce entrepreneur, it is time to put extra effort into optimizing your eCommerce website for voice search. Start now before voice search takes over typed search and you are left behind.  

Want to see how NuEthic has helped develop high-growth eCommerce websites while generating converting traffic? Let’s chat.