Why is voice search an important marketing tool for ecommerce brands?

Treading into the future with technological advancements up our sleeves, humans are now more dependent on inanimate objects for their searches across the World Wide Web.

The times we live in are more interesting than ever, and with that, companies targeting long-term growth are looking at adapting such changes that have caused a whirlwind in the way humans interact with voice assistants/chatbots for their searches, queries, curiosity, and more.

As self-quarantine continues to be practised by billions of people across the world, human behaviour continues to change progressively towards the new normal with each passing day. People feel at ease doing every activity from the comfort of their homes.

Thus, in the next wave of digital transformation, brands will start proffering, and people will start opting for products and offerings which will enhance their comfort.

As per research by Statista, this will be similar to the ecommerce wave, which has so far influenced over 1.8 billion people to shop anything and everything digitally, from the comfort of their homes.

With that, voice recognition and search is also growing exponentially with trends suggesting that about 20 percent of the grocery and entertainment shopping accounts for voice-based orders, and as we further move towards 2022, consumer spending is expected to reach 18 percent via voice assistants.

It can be seen that not investing in the voice search technology can be detrimental for businesses as they may lose upon the opportunity. So, it is crucial for brands and businesses to evolve as they adapt voice search technology in their portal to cater to the changing human needs in the coming future.

How do ecommerce businesses adopt voice search to advance their consumer game?

According to a study by SalesForce, as many as four out of 10 millennial consumers search about a product online, using the voice search feature before making a purchase, and the number will only increase.

In such a scenario, it is feasible and strategic for a brand to plan out its journey to optimise and integrate the feature into its platform using the following guide:

• Understanding consumer habits and searches, as questions matter: Voice search works similarly as search engine optimisation. Thus, it is important to design an effective strategy to draw traffic to the website. Enabling the website to answer the right questions has a higher potential to convert a lead.

• Use natural language and be more human: There are a gazillion variety of people, and so are their ways. Hence, it is imperative to be more human in the choices of questions and answers to offer to enhance the user-friendliness on the platform.

• Keep local searches in mind: While framing your brand’s content strategy for voice search optimisation, it is suggested that the business keeps in mind the local traction it receives on the platform and develops this feature to gain the potential market.

Making the website more consumer-friendly with the above-mentioned guide will enable users to search and do a lot more, and it will open doors for marketers to creatively and effectively build marketing strategies, keeping in mind that people are no longer just searching on their desktops.

Whether the consumer is cooking or driving, voice search comes in handy as the mobile goes where the person goes.

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What will be the impact of voice search on marketing and its various tools?

As most of the voice searches will be conducted on mobile devices and smart speakers using artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistants, it becomes essential for brands managers and marketers to adapt this technology and constantly work on building their SEO strategy that is optimised and re-optimised to suit the needs of the consumers.

Brands will have to focus on curating creative, conversational content that takes the user through a step-by-step journey until they finally check out with the product.

Why is it necessary to be future-ready

The world never stops for anyone. If one brand is not consumer-friendly, the other will make the mark in the heart of the consumers.

Today, people are more aware than ever before, and they are always on the lookout for things that make their life more convenient than ever, and voice search has the capabilities to completely strike out the effort to pick up a device, type, and find what you’re looking for, in just one voice command.

So, is it necessary to be future-ready? Yes. Brands and businesses must evolve more than ever to be future-ready because people are changing as they please and at their own pace.

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Way forward with the voice search technology

Today, very few ecommerce portals have integrated a voice search feature to enhance the user experience, but going forward, the voice search technology will form an integral part as more and more people get hold of a smartphone with an internet connection.

The need to adapt to this technology can be postponed for the time being, but the brands must circle back to it, and adapt it to offer its users overall wholesome experience.