Voice searches are, according to some assessments, expected to increase dramatically over the coming years. We’ve seen predictions as high as 50% (from admittedly fairly serious analysts). The question is how this should be handled within the world of SEO?
Some sources claim that by 2020 as much as 50% of all searches will be made using voice. This will naturally affect how you need to work with your SEO. If we look at how the dramatic increase in mobile searches has impacted search engine optimization, we should be able to make some educated guesses about voice search as well.
Payment methods?
To begin with, it took a long time before people actually started making purchases on mobile devices. For several years there was a lot of searching but very little buying. This was probably due to poorly adapted mobile payment systems and, quite possibly, because users simply weren’t used to it. With voice search, it’s reasonable to assume we’ll see something similar. A user who searches by voice is unlikely to suddenly want to switch to manually entering user data. That said, payment providers may be more prepared this time around and adapt more quickly.
Intent?
Google talks a lot about intent — the intention behind a user’s search. Are you looking for information, or do you want to buy something when performing that specific search? My guess is that, for the foreseeable future, we won’t choose to use voice when we intend to make a purchase. Finding the nearest restaurant sounds reasonable, as does checking the weather in Norrköping, but completing a purchase of a new sofa using only your voice sounds far less likely.
Fat fingers?
Another interesting aspect is the “fat fingers” phenomenon on mobile devices, where a large share of ad clicks are made by mistake. It’s reasonable to assume that something similar will happen with voice to a significant extent — it will be increasingly difficult to get things exactly right in every situation. “Did you say Los Angeles? SAS domestic flights don’t fly to Los Angeles” is a phrase from my own life that I still chuckle about from time to time. Perhaps mishearings will evolve from thinking a Depeche Mode song is called “Just can’t get it up” to accidentally booking trips.
This also casts an interesting light on the fact that Google is making AdWords somewhat more “loose.” You can no longer control exactly what you advertise on to the same degree, as you’ll now be included in other variations of the keyword (primarily inflections) even with exact match. Consider this in combination with fat fingers and voice clicks.
