Using Voice Search in Marketing

Last week, we introduced the topic of Artificial Intelligence. This week we will take a look at one specific type of AI: Voice Search.

These days, consumers have high expectations for a more personalized experience. We do not want to have to wait too long for the product we want. As you may know, digital assistants like Siri and Cortana have grown to be a mandatory asset to any smartphone and computer on the market. Their capacity of recognizing voices and giving answers almost instantly has improved greatly from the moment of their creation. 

How can voice search help marketing campaigns?

Longer sentences containing keywords.

To take advantage of the voice search, a marketer has to use longer phrases containing different keywords in his/her search engine optimization (SEO). For example, a regular keyword is 1-2 words long, like “apples and pears”, whereas a longer phrase contains multiple keywords, “where can I find the best farmers market with apples and pears near me?”. You can see that this is similar to what people say when they use voice search. Written texts have to be specific with longer phrases and written in a neutral tone. Rather than writing something too technologically, it is preferable to write in a conversational voice, this way the content will be naturally optimized for keyword phrases that people are usually telling Siri or Cortana. Google states that 65% of all voice searches “are now delivered in a conversational manner”.

Personalization based on user search purpose.

The marketers must pay attention to what the consumers are looking for online, either information, searching for a product/service or when the audience engages in actually buying the product. At the information stage, the possible customer is looking for details about the product, although this information search does not usually lead to acquisition.

At the actively searching stage, the customer intends to buy a product, and at the engagement stage, the customer actually wants to buy the product. Engagement is, therefore, the most important stage for marketers to focus on.

From a customer experience perspective, voice search has many advantages. The first one is the ease and speed with which we can now get information online. Just by asking, we get the answers or websites we were looking for. Another advantage is how people with disabilities, such as vision loss, could benefit from voice search. The possibility of using their voice to search what they are looking for online without the need of sight helps them during their daily lives. Additionally, voice search recognizes different languages. This means that because of speech-recognition, keywords can be said in any language and it will still result in finding the accurate result.

Voice search is creating and leading to different opportunities for online marketing. However, there is still much space for developments and growth. As we have seen this past decade, more and more companies are interested in investing in AI, given the benefits this investment is bringing to marketing.

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