Voice search queries on the internet have been growing over the past few years. With the introduction of smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa and Samsung’s Bixby, it’s not by chance that voice search is on the rise.
Smartphones have also had a huge part to play as most have their own built-in voice assistant. We live in a fast paced world and as a society we rely more and more on our mobile phones for everyday tasks.
As a result, voice search is only set to grow in popularity – mainly because it makes searching easier. Digital marketing disciplines like SEO and PPC will also be hugely impacted by this shift in behaviour.
Let’s take a look into the world of voice search and what it holds for the future.
What is Voice Search?
Voice search is a way to search for things on the internet using voice commands. Using modern technology, voice signals can be transformed into text. This eliminates the need for manually typing any search terms on your phone.
Advanced AI software is being applied to this voice recognition software to assist in delivering better and more accurate responses.
When Did We First See Voice Search?
Voice recognition technology has been around for quite some time. In fact, the first speech machine was actually invented in 1774 by Wolfgang Von Kempelen (save that one for your next pub quiz!!)
Yes, around 230 years ago humans actually started to think of ways we could intertwine our voices with technology..
A better resemblance can be seen at the start of the 1950’s when Bell Laboratories created the first voice recognition technology. From here, technology developed at a good rate, especially in the 90’s when we saw the introduction of faster microprocessors.
Why is Voice Search So Popular Now?
We have touched briefly on why voice search is gaining in popularity. but there are actually a number of factors that have contributed to this:
The Smart Speaker Boom
We’re sure you’re sick to death of seeing Alexa speaker TikTok videos but these have only added to the smart speaker hype. Amazon led the way with Alexa and it seems to be leading the way in the marketplace.
Google has their own speaker called ‘Nest’ which has Google Assistant software installed, enabling it to run using voice search. Many other top brands are now creating their own smart speakers which will make the market even more competitive.
Smartphones Are Ubiquitous
Almost everyone has a smartphone. Even grandparents are adapting seamlessly now to smartphones, even if they still do the occasional pocket dial (happens to the best of us).
The modern smartphone is basically like having a mini supercomputer in the palm of your hand. As much as we might not want to admit it, these hand held devices are huge parts of our lives. We sort most of our daily tasks out with the help of some cool apps and a myriad of messaging softwares.
Research from Statista shows that more than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. You can bet there is a huge probability of this rising even further, and with most smartphones already equipped with voice recognition software, you can start to see the correlation.
Voice Search Is Soooo Much Faster Than Typing
Put simply, it is much faster and easier to talk than to type. On average, we can speak seven times faster than we can type. So in a world where everything is becoming even more fast paced it makes sense that we’ll gravitate more towards using voice recognition software.
Can you imagine the time you could save by not having to type?
This is precisely why more and more users are turning to the voice search method.
AI Technology Has Grown Rapidly
AI continues to push the boundaries when it comes to software development. AI is being used in a number of different ways including AI Writing Software, the gaming industry and even social media algorithms. As a result AI now affects many different parts of our life.
Due to this growth we are now seeing AI being adapted heavily into voice recognition software. This is especially evident with the rise of chatbots.
Chatbots are a computer program that are designed to simulate conversation with human users. Now that voice search is on the rise you will see more and more chatbots speaking back, as opposed to texting.
We’re sensing terminator vibes, are you?
What the Future Holds for Voice Search in Digital Marketing?
Yes, we’re a digital marketing agency after all so we need to address the impact that voice search will have on the digital marketing landscape.
Digital marketing is an ever changing beast.
Human behaviors hugely dictate marketing trends and strategies, and with AI voice software on the rise there will be a noticeable shift.
If search engines are getting more voice searches then they are more likely to navigate searchers towards audio/video content sources. With video already a huge hit with online consumers, this could be a massive opportunity for businesses.
SEO is also being affected by voice search. Around 22% of voice searches are tailored towards location based content. This is an interesting stat as businesses could optimise their local search content to accommodate this rise in local searches.
A focus could be put on platforms such as your Google Business Profile. Doing so can help location based searchers find your business faster.
Digital Marketing at Blaze Media
As you can see, this is a topic that could have huge implications for the future of digital marketing as a whole. It’ll be exciting to see what route it will take and how companies will adapt.
At Blaze Media, we pride ourselves on being experts in all things digital marketing. Our expert team members can deliver bespoke marketing campaigns which achieve the results you want.
If you have any marketing questions then we would love to hear from you guys.