When SEO’s think of major Google updates, they tend to focus exclusively on the search algorithm changes like Panda and Penguin. One Google update that is slowly starting to get a lot more focus now is voice search.
We all know that there are currently two Google indexes, desktop and mobile. But voice search is growing more and more with people turning to Alexa, Siri, Cortana and saying “OK Google” to their mobile or home devices.
Will Google launch a voice index?
A lot has changed. Personally when voice search launched, I hated the idea. I’m from Northern Ireland, so the damn thing struggled to understand what the hell I was saying to begin with. However, more recently this service has become more and more accurate and I do find myself using it from time to time. Not quite regularly, but certainly on occasion.
With the addition to Google Home devices and Amazon Echo making its way into peoples homes, it is important for SEO’s to recognise that another change is coming that they really should be keeping an eye on. This is developing quickly and Google already lean towards natural language in their search queries (think long tail keywords).
So what does this mean for you and your business? It means that not only do you have to come up with a content strategy that incorporates long tail keywords, but you’ve also got to think seriously about the context of that content. Put yourself in the shoes of an end user. The chances are that they are going to be asking via voice search for navigational – “Where is the nearest ** to me”, transactional “how much does ** cost” and navigational “how do I get to **”.
Right now, the volume of voice searches is relatively low – particularly when compared to mobile and desktop – but remember, technology advances and the rate of use is increasing drastically.
Things change – so get ready.
(from c7 SEO)
c7 SEO Blog 