AI assistants have been a big part of the market for the past few years. With Alexa and Siri leading the way for Amazon and Apple respectively, Google has developed their own alternative called the Google Assistant. With a cheery “OK Google”, you will be ready to pass on your query to the AI. Every Android and Google Home device is coming equipped with the Google Assistant so many of us have easier access to this service than we might think.
Slowly Transforming
Many people now have access to an AI program like Google Assistant and it is having an effect on the way we search. Instead of heading to a traditional search engine, we are instead choosing to put queries to our voice assistants instead.
Mobile searches are on the up. More people than ever are bringing Google Assistants into their lives through either the Google Home devices or their phones. Why go looking for your phone or your laptop when you can instead just ask your device? These assistants are activated with just voice alone. Since they are hands-free, many people also find them more convenient during busy life.
Small Improvements from Google
Google is aware of this shift in favour of searching through assistants and they are quickly coming up with improvements to help push them out ahead of the competition. For the moment, it can be quite clunky to handle multiple interactions with an assistant. They can easily become confused and you might need to activate it several times to get it to carry out a list of commands. Google is looking to address this as closely as they can.
Their latest innovations include the ability to string together multiple commands in one activation. Whether you are replying to a text, checking the temperature for tomorrow, or searching for a recipe for dinner, you will be able to do it all at the same time. This is a massive innovation and the seamlessness of this interaction is a massive selling point. Google has managed to achieve an integration which few other companies currently have. While others are attempting to bring in the same innovation, there are few who are implementing it as quickly as Google.
Why is the Change Happening?
People enjoy using the voice functions offered by tools like the Google Assistant. Instead of making a query to a search engine, it feels more like asking a question to someone who is in the room with you. The hands-free benefit is extremely useful to a lot of people whether they are driving or just too busy to pick up a device. Multitasking is easier than ever and more people are able to get the answers and information they need faster than ever before.
To put it simply, it allows people to draw on knowledge and information at a faster rate than they have previously. It streamlines the daily routine and can be used without interrupting other daily tasks. By choosing a Google Assistant over a device from another brand, you will also be able to draw on all the information Google has to offer. Some devices will have to link to Google to be able to answer their queries whereas the Assistant can just do it as part of their processes.
What This Means for SEO
If you have not begun to optimise for voice search amongst your SEO strategies then you need to do so as soon as possible. Siri first came out in 2011 and the popularity of voice assistants has increased ever since.
Businesses should be one of the first groups to consider optimising for voice search. Many people are now using the Google Assistant to find out information such as when the business will be open to or where it is. By providing Google with this information through tools like Google My Business, you are going to make it much easier for users to find out about your business. You can even include information about some of your latest deals and promotions to give the clearest picture possible about what people could expect from you.
Start Optimising
One of the first things you need to do is consider the semantic differences between typing and speaking. A searcher is likely only to use a string of keywords when using a computer but will phrase a question properly when using a voice search. Learning how to target these keywords is going to be incredibly important.
Businesses might also decide to develop a specific Action on the Google App. Similar to creating a custom skill for Alexa, building an Action allows a business to easily build a set of voice commands for Google to use. It is important, however, that you do not do these for the sake of it. You can easily create an Action designed for a podcast or a news article. To do so, the page needs the right structured data markup as well as being an Accelerated Mobile Page. Both of these are key parts of SEO.
Optimising for voice-based searches is a different task compared to other types of SEO. While it can be difficult to get right, it can open up many opportunities to lots of businesses. If you have a local business, you should definitely take a look at what voice search optimisation can offer you.
Google Assistant – Changing Voice Search
Our world has changed quite significantly since introducing voice searches and they are improving all the time. Just the skill of the technology itself has made leaps and bounds in improvements and it is now quite capable of interpreting nearly any question one could ask it.
With more and more people relying on voice search from AIs like the Google Assistant, it is extremely important that businesses keep up. Take a look at some of the amazing things this technology can do and then start looking into key SEO strategies which could help you meet this search. Google is changing the game and we need to make sure that we are prepared to change with it.