What’s this about Voice Shopping?
This is an extract from TWIS SEO Update 14 July 2017.
A recent report from Walker Sands has shown that 43% of millennials have shopped in some way via a voice controlled device. It’s an interesting stat! Read a summary and some thoughts on the future of voice devices and voice search in this post.
If you would like to discuss ways voice devices and voice search could impact your web business, please feel free to contact me.
#VoiceDevices #VoiceSearch #DigitalTechnology #TechnologyStrategy
Millennials Shopping on Voice Devices
Summary:
- Walker Sands have released their Future of Retail Report, which the rather shocking revelation that 43% of millennials shop in some way via voice-controlled devices.
- It should be noted that this is 43% of millennials who *own* a voice-controlled device, not all millennials.
- This really means they are shopping via Amazon Echo, not via Google Home, other devices, or via mobile voice search (yet). It’s not stated, but presumably these are mainly branded purchases, or re-orders.
- The researchers used a fairly small sample of US consumers, which may not scale up to the entire US population, let alone the world.
- Google tends to release very broad data statistics on Voice Search, which show it in a good light, but voice search and voice purchase is coming,
- Kids these days!
Voice Search Actions to take:
- The key things to do to prepare for voice search are to make sure you are very well optimised for local search, you are optimised for long-tail search and you are optimised for conversational search (as the tech gets better, users are tending to ask questions more conversationally).
- You also need to test voice purchases where possible, and make sure you are present where users are searching for products, so when they come to purchase they seek out the product by name.
- You also need to work hard on vertical search. Amazon Echo is a big deal, and if you’re well represented in Amazon search, it is likely voice purchases will follow.
- Contact me if you would like to discuss this further.
Voice Search Discussion:
We’d better all get ready for a voice search world. Naturally, voice search is the next big thing. I have a sneaky suspicion it will be like mobile search: something which will be a long time coming, until it reaches a critical mass. Don’t expect to suddenly be doing your supermarket shop by voice next week.
There is a bit of a disconnect for voice search to turn into web or app traffic. Users currently really search for specific answers rather than do generic informational / research searches. There is also a significant level of local search “what time is XYZ shop open”, rather than “find me 5 local plumbers”. There isn’t a decent way for the tech companies to turn those voice search queries into a 10 Blue Links, unless they just skip past those and go straight to a full pay-to-play sponsored results model.
Time will tell. Before we know it, we’ll be on the bus whispering “have a pint of milk delivered” into our phones or watches or other devices, and it’ll be there waiting on the doorstep when we get home.
More info:
The State of SEO Mid-2017 Released
TL;DR
- Millennials are the ones actually making purchases on Voice Devices.
- This is mainly Amazon Echo in the US. Google Home is catching up.
- Likely slow uptake, but the future’s coming.
- Read The State of SEO in mid-2017.
- Read about how Google’s Mobile First Index is not Mobile Friendly.
Thanks for reading. If you would like to discuss what these changes mean for your web property, or would like to know how to implement them, please feel free to contact me.
