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Tags – Voice Search in Marketing
Do you use voice search?
In my case, apart from the limited use to put alarms and timers, and an occasional calculator task, I rarely use voice search. And, most people around me, don’t even use voice search for that.
This state of voice search is quite alarming as, just 5 years ago, there were predictions that voice search will be 50% of all searches by 2020, which, of course, hasn’t happened. In fact, only 27% of people, which seems exaggerated itself, reportedly use voice search. Here, you can imagine, what these 27% of people are using voice search for and it’s certainly not even 5% of the total searches.
From a marketing perspective, this state of voice search is alarming as a lot of effort has gone into preparing for it.
Preparing for Voice Search in Marketing
2 years ago, when we started Axies Digital, we put a lot of effort into trying to understand where the market was going. And, one of the 1st things that we targeted was voice search in marketing, along with digital psychology and Google Rich Cards.
The only part of the trio that stands today is digital psychology. In fact, in the current lockdown situation, digital psychology and understanding how people are interacting with changing technology has become more crucial than ever. However, voice search and rich cards have taken a backseat for most of the market.
In other words, we built our expertise in these 2 areas but they have fallen off the cliff.
In the case of voice search, at least, there is an argument to be made for how the voice search technology has not been developed enough.
The (Very) Slow Progress
We are still hearing that voice search technology is being improved.
To put this into perspective, voice search was launched by Google in 2011. This means that we have been hearing about this ‘progress’ for a decade now.
I can understand that voice AI and machine learning are improving. However, is the improvement significant enough to put a dent in our strategies anymore?
Such is the situation that most people’s accents are still not recognised by voice search options, which apparently is now 95% accurate, let alone adding features to the voice search option itself. Specifically, the number of times my android tells me that a requested function is not possible is borderline shambolic.
In any case, the only line of improvement that we have seen in voice search terms is the push for home voice activated devices. However, it feels like such improvements are more of a push for selling more items to an already widening gadgets market, which will encounter its own limits in the near future.
But, it all comes down to the demand and the option of voice search in real world situations.
Is Voice Search Practical?
If you are a voice search user, how often do you use it in public?
Let’s add another question here: if you use this option of search regularly, how likely are you to use it later at night?
In both these cases, even the most avid users of voice search are less likely to actually use the option. And, this eliminates a great part of our life, which is rarely spent in complete isolation.
However, this does not mean that we can neglect this option altogether.
Concluding Remarks
I simply believe that the option of voice search was over sold.
Just because we have the option to use voice to make a search, does not automatically mean that we were actually going to use it. There is no denying that the option to use voice for search is convenient. However, convenience rarely leads to solidified sales, even though it is one of the most strong selling points.
The option to use voice for search is simply finding its feet. Therefore, instead of making exaggerated claims, we need to let it settle and see the direction in which we are going.
And, in terms of preparation, all that time was well spent for Axies Digital and our SEO services. We are ready for it to take off.
To learn more, get in touch with us today.
And, to learn about other related areas, check:
- The Rise of Personal Searches – Google Getting Personal?
- Search Intent – Managing Expectations from Search Results
- Searching for Solutions in Space? Business Problem Solving Approaches
- 3 Ways to Grow Your Business through Customer Generated Content
- Tech for the Sake of Tech – Avoiding Tech Distractions
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