Ready to explore voice search trends?
Keywords are the search terms or phrases that people type into Google to get what they are looking for. Keyword research is the process of finding suitable keywords with low competition and high search volume to use in our search engine optimization efforts. This is done to get as many quality keywords as possible to optimize our website and rank well on search engines.
High quality keywords drive a lot of traffic to our site or blog. It is not sufficient to create a keyword rich but human readable website. You also need to use keywords to write good blog articles that link back to your site. Thus, Keyword research is very significant in your Digital Marketing workflow.
The rise of voice search and its impact on search behaviour
When you speak to digital assistants like Gemini, Alexa and Siri with the intention of getting a concise and informative answers, you use Voice Search. Children are now searching more on devices like Echo Dot (Alexa), Google Home and Siri than on Google Search – as they are easily available. Thus, you may see the newer generations gravitate towards Voice search instead of traditional search.
Companies can utilize voice search trends by deploying chatbots that give instant responses to customer queries and thus decreasing response time. Voice search can also enable highly personalized experiences based on customer preferences.
The Traditional Approach to Keyword Research
Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail Keywords
Short-tail keywords are more broad search terms that are harder to rank and convert. They have a higher search volume and are easier to research.
Long-tail keywords are more specific keywords that contain more words. They have lower search volume and are harder to research. You need to produce a lot of in-depth content to get noticed by Google. More than 70% of search traffic comes from long-tail keywords – people are interested in more specific results in less time.
Tools and Techniques
Keywordsheeter is a free keyword research tool that you may use for any kind of site. It generates a lot of long tail keywords based on Google’s Auto Suggestions feature.
Google Keyword Planner is a very useful tool used to estimate monthly search volume and competition. You need to set up a Google Ads account before being able to use Keyword Planner. Use the “Get search volume and forecasts” tool to import keywords from Keywordsheeter and pick the keywords with high search volume and low competition.
You need to incorporate high value keywords into the website content, h1 tag, title and description. Also remember to add them to pay per click campaigns!
Emergence and Growth of Voice Search
Technological Advancements
Virtual assistants are computer apps that are designed to interact with users using voice commands. And text also. They work by using speech recognition algorithms that use machine learning to convert words into text. It extracts relevant info from databases and generates a response to answer your query.
User Adoption Trends
Speakers with virtual assistants built in are getting more popular. They are driving greater adoption in homes and while on the move.
- Approximately 20.5% of the global population utilizes voice search.
- The number of voice assistants in use worldwide is projected to reach 8.4 billion.
- In the U.S., an estimated 153.5 million individuals rely on voice assistants.
- Siri has a user base of around 86.5 million in the United States.
- Nearly 27% of mobile users engage with voice search on their devices.
- About 38.8 million people in the U.S., representing 13.6% of the population, use smart speakers for shopping-related tasks.
- Local and “near me” searches account for 76% of voice search queries, and this trend is expected to rise as more users turn to voice search for finding nearby businesses.
Impact of Voice Search on User Behaviour
Conversational Queries
People are shifting from using keyword-based Google searches to natural language queries. This made Google to adapt by using AI powered results called AI overviews.
Question-Based Searches
Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest tool is an affordable way to find out search intent-based keywords based on NLP (Natural Linguistic Processing) and question words like who, what, where, when, why, and how. NLP is a branch of artificial intelligence that focuses on aiding computers in understanding, interpreting, and producing human language.
Local Intent
Voice search trends also show a higher volume of “near me” searches, like “pubs near me”. How do you make your business stand out? Do local SEO, that includes improving the responsiveness of your site, keyword research that’s location focused, and Google Business Profile optimization.
Adapting Keyword Research Strategies for Voice Search
Focusing on Natural Language Keywords
For success in voice search optimization, you need to identify and target conversational phrases that searchers are likely to speak.
Optimizing for Question Phrases
Searchers often ask questions about your product or service. You need to create content that answers the common queries that users may have.
Emphasizing Local SEO
Ensure that Google Business Profiles are accurate and well optimized for local voice searches. The most essential info includes your business name, address, phone number and business category. Local citations in business directories and genuine reviews and testimonials can help a lot.
Once you have the high value keywords that are specific to a particular location, insert it into your site and blog content to gain better authority for that location.
Implementing Structured Data and Schema Markup
Enhancing Search Visibility
What is schema? It is a structured way of presenting data about your web pages to a search engine like Google. It is added to the HTML code of your website in the JSON-LD format. This format is lightweight and is based on JavaScript.
Rich snippets are large blocks of text and image(s) that highlight the features of a webpage. It mainly appears to the right of the organic search results. Adding a Schema to your webpages increases your chances of appearing in voice search results and rich snippets.
Featured snippets make up to 40% of voice search results and is used to deliver answers to 80% of Google Home users. To optimize your content for featured snippets, give people a direct and conversational answer for their search query with concise examples.
Conclusion
Keyword research has evolved a lot, and the rise of voice search has transformed how users interact with search engines. Traditional keyword strategies focused on short and long-tail keywords, but with the increasing use of voice activated assistants, businesses must now optimize for conversational and question-based queries.
To stay ahead, regularly analyse voice search trends, refine your keyword strategies, see to it that your site is mobile optimized, and ensure your content aligns with how users speak rather than type. By doing so, you can future-proof your SEO efforts and maintain strong search rankings.
What are your thoughts on the impact of voice search? How would you modify your keyword strategy? Share your insights in the comments below!
MN Service Providers is a leading technology solutions company incorporated in 2007 and holds the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 certification, reflecting our commitment to delivering high-quality services. As a leading IT software company based in Bengaluru, India, we have embarked on a remarkable journey of growth and evolution since our inception.
Melvin C Varghese is an author with more than 8 years of expertise in DevOps, SEO and SEM. His portfolio blogs include a Digital Marketing blog at https://melvincv.com/blog/ and a DevOps blog at https://blog.melvincv.com/. He is married with 2 small kids and is a simple person who eats, sleeps, works and plays. He loves music, comedy movies and the occasional video game.