If you would like to optimize your website for voice search, it is important to understand how much search requests can change due to new technology. The biggest changes concern the language itself: search requests are moving away from the standard written language and are moving more towards a natural use of language. This means that search requests will be longer. Instead of one to three keywords, which is usually what is typed into a search engine, voice searches consist of two to four keywords with an increasing trend. This increases the relevance of longtail keywords.
The longer search queries come about as follows: keywords are often embedded in questions due to the language use being more natural. For example, if a user wants information about a celebrity, their voice search is probably not 'Steve Jobs', but is more likely to be 'Who is Steve Jobs?'. These so-called W questions come up time and time again during the voice search so they need to be taken into consideration for voice search optimization. Question words like 'who', 'when', and 'where' are used much more frequently than 'what', 'why', or 'how'. The voice assistant also understands prepositions (e.g. 'from' or 'to') thanks to algorithm adaptations, so it is a lot more accurate when you search for 'flights from Los Angeles to New York' than it was a few years ago.
This further development also affects traditional text searches: the structural shift from keyword to content. The classic money keywords are losing search volume, and semantic contexts are becoming more important. This is probably because users are showing more intent with their searches. Studies of user behavior also show that the voice search is used to acquire information – more specific inquiries and purchasing decisions are made later. In particular, content that provides specific information and answers search requests will be more successful in bringing users to your website rather than the individual keywords or a specific product.
This new search behavior, in turn, has an impact on the technology since its algorithms are constantly being developed. It’s important to meet the user’s need for direct answers to their W questions. This is where Google’s Knowledge Graph that was introduced in 2012 comes in. The Knowledge Graph shows several search results in a separate area above the common search results; these provide graphics and a small collection of facts on the search term, without the user having to go to another website for this information. Google is developing into an independent answer machine. Users are often able to receive these 'direct answers' as a spoken response e.g. by means of the voice assistant, Google Now. These are steps towards natural two-way communication between humans and technology.
The popularity of these direct responses is problematic from the web master’s point of view since it reduces traffic normally caused by Google searches. It is, however, questionable whether the users who prefer direct answers are also visitors who would be interested in analyzing them deeper on a more long-term basis.
An additional technical development complicates effective search engine optimization: newer algorithms are increasingly aiming for personalized content in order to provide even more personalized search results and customized ads. For this personalization, personal voice assistants provide detailed information. They are interfaces between the user, his or her device, and what they search for online, meaning that they are able to gather diverse user information. It is difficult for SEOs to analyze and calculate personalized content since information about voice assistants isn’t ascertainable for marketers and website operators.
Google has also picked up on the trend of local voice search. The search algorithm update, Pigeon, which was introduced in July 2014, aimed at improving the visibility of local businesses. The voice search is three times more likely to display local results compared to typed search, showing that Google is already reacting to mobile use regarding voice search. Make sure you consider these technological developments in your voice search optimization.