Little did we know at the start of this year that we will all be sheltering in place and away from our loved ones. Of course, that also meant that for the past 10 months, people ordered products online, shopped for groceries online, worked online, and communicated with people online. All we had going for us in the past months was the ability to browse, use, and maximize the internet.
It is in this context that voice search will become the next big thing in e-commerce. Think about how you used voice search in the past months. Didn’t you ask Siri and Alexa where to get a good and authentic Vietnamese pho near you? When you were about to run some errands, haven’t you ever asked Google what the weather is like outside? Coronavirus didn’t only disrupt people’s lives and economies, but it also changed the way they shopped.
This is no time to sit back and watch this “trend” come and go. Voice search is more than a passing trend. Surveys showed that 72% of people who own voice-activated speakers use their devices as part of their daily routine. Experts forecast that there will be a surge in voice-driven user experience across all e-commerce platforms, including shopping on social media. By 2023, voice commerce will account for more than $80 billion of e-commerce sales.
Long-tail Keywords and Conversational Language
When it comes to website optimization, content producers need to use more long-tail keywords and conversational language. Voice search is all about natural language. It is going to index sites and come up with search results using conversational language. When searching for restaurants in Manhattan, SEO writers need to be more creative by using the actual question “What are the best restaurants in Manhattan?” as the keyword.
Personalized Shopping Experience
Personalized marketing has been very big in recent years. Customers want to feel valued and appreciated. Voice search makes that more possible and easier by recommending products and services based on the user’s previous preferences. For example, you bought a particular brand of toothpaste in the past week through voice search. The same voice assistant can suggest items that complement the product you bought. It could be a toothbrush, a teeth whitening device, dental floss, and other products for your teeth and gums.
Reviews Made Easier
Leaving a review or recommendation on a product page can be cumbersome for most consumers. After all, who would want to actually open the product page and type a review? It is time-consuming, so customers don’t bother with them anymore. The problem is that companies need these reviews. Voice search makes it easier for consumers to leave reviews and recommendations. The voice assistants will guide the consumers through a series of questions and ratings.
Time-efficient
The average person types 30 to 35 words per minute. A voice search, however, will process around 100 words per minute. Consumers can obtain results quicker by using voice search. They can even shop while driving since they can rattle off instructions to their voice assistants. The fact that many vehicles come with voice assistant makes voice search essential.
Smart Shopping and Artificial Intelligence
Voice search uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand consumer behavior. It makes the voice feature so smart that it can recommend and remind consumers to buy certain products. If you used voice search to do grocery shopping a week ago, it would remind you about your previously carted products. This feature is a huge advantage for brands.
There was a time when brands need to prove themselves through quality products and customer service to create a loyal clientele. Now, the battle for e-commerce supremacy lies in voice search. More than a strategy, this will redefine and define digital marketing from now on.
