[caption id="attachment_7019" align="alignnone" width="1024"]Voice Search Image Credit: amazonaws.com[/caption]

Understanding the significance of voice search strategy within an enterprise 

Voice search simply refers to search topics by speaking to smart devices or virtual assistants, also known as search by voice. With the rise and improvement of intelligent virtual assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana and others, the use of voice search is gaining rapid momentum. Considering reports, adults are more like voice technology for their search queries, as 41 percent of adults and 55 percent of teens use this search option daily.

Voice technology has been with us for several years now. In recent years, it has developed at a rapid pace, with the latest devices come into the existence, Amazon Echo and Google Home for instance. Other well-known digital assistants on include Alice from Yandex, and AliGenie from Alibaba, among others. Since the voice recognition technology has significantly improved, search engine Google claims 95 percent accuracy, while the iFlytek speech recognition system has an accuracy of 98 percent.

Today, this technology has significantly spread to the internet of things (IoT) devices, including smart TVs, smart thermostats, or home kits.

Why Businesses Must Have a Voice Search Strategy?

As voice search is garnering quick popularity since it has already proved to be effective in SEO, there are several reasons why businesses must embrace and implement voice strategies. Implementing a voice search strategy keeps a brand ahead of the competition and gives access to companies to create a unique and optimized customer experience that will help cultivate relationships and create brand loyalty.

While voice search interactions take much less time than text-based, it has become essential among almost every type of demographic. According to a survey, 76 percent of consumers ages 18 to 34, 64 percent of consumers ages 35 to 54 and 37 percent with the age of 55 had used voice search to find information for a local business within the last 12 months.

Voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant have the ability to distinguish between voices. They are able to deliver valuable insights regarding users that can lead to more personalized information and content, ultimately improving the customer experience. Thus by leveraging voice technology, businesses can enable interactions with customers more natural and seamless, which fosters retention and loyalty.

Getting Started with Voice Search

Just like the call-to-action button on a web page, voice search drives action for businesses. This enables consumers who expect a stellar experience and instant gratification every time they interact with a brand more convenient.

As implementing voice strategy can improve customer experience, businesses need to get local to come on Google My Business and other local search directories. Companies also must embrace FAQs strategy as consumers these days are increasingly searching question-related search requests that often include words like who, what, where, when, and why. Thus, by confining which questions are most important to consumers and responding to those directly on blog posts, social media posts, and website copy can enhance brand loyalty and make customers visit again to your site.

Therefore, voice search, or voice technology, nowadays is becoming an indispensable tool for businesses to deliver more value to their customer and achieve enhanced customer experience.