Amazon Echo frenzy has taken over and people are quickly adopting smart speakers and other forms of voice search. Think snippets limited your company’s influence on page 1? Voice search will likely hit harder. Because results are read, not seen, it’s unlikely users will hear much beyond the first result. It’s now more important than ever to create compelling, search engine-optimized content to common customer queries than ever before.
Voice Search Statistics
Voice search’s prominence is rising, and quickly. Here are some important statistics to keep in mind.
General statistics
The following statistics were compiled by WordStream and give good insight on what to expect the voice search landscape to look like over the next few years.
- 50% of all searches will be voice search by 2020. Voice search is expected to take over. Sounds like voice is the new mobile.
- 30% of searches are expected to be screenless by 2020. This means many of the voice search users will be doing so on a smart speaker, rather than a cell phone or other device.
- 2 in 5 adults use voice search at least once daily. This is nearly half of users. Voice search is becoming widely adopted.
- 13% of US households owned smart speakers in 2017; it’s expected to rise to 55% by 2022. Smart speakers will quickly pop up in a number of US homes and become increasingly involved in buyer lives.
- 65% of people who own an Amazon Echo or Google Home can’t imagine going back to the days before they had a smart speaker. This means that users are attached and will increasingly rely on the devices. They’ll also encourage others to adopt.
- 1 in 5 adults use mobile voice search at least once monthly. Voice search isn’t limited to smart speakers; mobile allows them to use it anywhere, anytime.
- Individuals aged 26-35 are the highest percentage of smart home device owners.
- 41% say voice search feels like talking to a friend. The fact that the interaction feels personal is powerful and important to remember.
- Voice search sales reached $1.8 billion last year. This is expected to grow to $40 billion in 2022. The potential for voice commerce is massive.
What Are Users Searching For?
It’s often one of four categories: (1) 30% search general information, (2) 27% use it as a personal assistant, (3) 22% search local information, or (4) 21% use it for fun and entertainment.
Why Are Users Choosing Voice Search?
There are a number of reasons users are implementing voice search over text. Here are the most common reasons:
- 62% say it’s useful when their hands or vision is occupied.
- 30% believe it provides faster results.
- 24% have difficulty typing on certain devices.
- 22% simply find it fun or cool.
- 12% do it to avoid confusing menus.
How to Succeed in a Voice Search World
The time to respond to voice search is now. It’s quickly gaining popularity, and your business will want to take advantage of this opportunity before it’s too late and competitors are way ahead. Here’s what to do.
Choose Carefully
Because you’ll be working harder than ever to gain the top spot on keywords, it’s important to limit which keywords to focus on. Your company can’t possibly be the best at everything, so pick which areas you’d most like your company to rank.
Be Natural
Incorporate more natural language in your business’s content, rather than short, keyword-heavy work. This will ultimately improve the likelihood that your business will show ahead of competitors.
Remember Local
Mobile voice searches are 3x more likely to be for local services/goods than text searches. Use this to your advantage and work on your local strategy. It may pay off big-time.
FAQ Pages More Important Than Ever
FAQ pages have always been a helpful resource, but with the increased need for natural language and long-tail keywords, it’s more important than ever to invest the time in the FAQ page. Neglecting it is a missed opportunity.
Pay Attention
More changes in the world of SEO are likely to come as voice search gains influence, pay attention and adjust accordingly.
Keep Your Eye on Voice Search
Voice search will be the SEO topic to watch over the next few years. As smart speakers and mobile voice search become increasingly utilized, standard textual SEO practices will fall out of favor. In order to be successful, you’ll now have to focus and hit position 0 or 1 if you ever hope for your business to grab screenless searcher’s attention.
Learn More About Voice Search:
Forbes: Why You Need to Prepare for a Voice Search Revolution