Gone are the days when you had to type a long string of commands for your computer to execute something. Computers have evolved considerably, especially over the last few years. The increased computing power and sophisticated advancements of digital technology have had a huge impact on the way businesses interact with other businesses.
This blog explores how one specific aspect of modern technology; Voice Search, impacts B2B marketing.
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Voice Search and Its Impact on B2B Marketing
We have all used the voice search feature on Sirri, Cortana, Alexa, or Google Assistant at some point. Whether it is to check the daily weather update or to find a TV Essentials package, voice searches are quickly becoming a normal part of our lives. In fact, we are so used to using voice search every day, it is easy to forget the sophisticated technology underlying it.
There are billions of devices in the US like smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, and smart wearable tech that have voice search capabilities. And they aren’t just having an impact on consumers. Smart voice search technology is changing B2B marketing and this blog explores how in the following areas:
- Voice Search at a Glance
- Aligning Mobile and Voice Strategies
- Creating Voice-Friendly Content
- Targeting Specific Voice Queries
- Bing-Focused Voice Optimization
Let’s briefly examine the role voice search plays in changing B2B marketing below.
Voice Search at a Glance
Early voice search algorithms were inaccurate and too primitive for commercial and business use. But roughly around a decade ago, better technology and the popularity of smartphones led to improved voice algorithms. The technology began to reach near-human levels of accuracy in terms of voice searches. The convenience and ease of using voice search soon began to attract more users.
Ultimately, it began to impact the way consumers and businesses interact with other businesses. But how exactly does it affect B2B marketing? There are several reasons why voice search is a viable platform for B2B interaction compared to others. These include the following:
- Many people already use voice search at work, making adopting the technology much easier.
- Voice search is almost platform-independent making it easier to create a voice-optimized online presence.
- The conversational tone of voice queries can become discovery searches, leading users to your business.
Read on to find out how to leverage voice search technology for B2B interaction.
Aligning Mobile and Voice Strategies
Mobile technology and voice search technology have a strong and intricate relationship with each other. Smartphones are the most popular voice search tools after smart speakers. That means in order to have a strong voice search presence, you will first need a strong mobile presence. A clear mobile strategy, a mobile responsive website, and an optimized mobile experience are essential for successful voice search visibility. Your mobile strategy should be aligned with your voice search strategy for you to compete on voice search queries.
Creating Voice-Friendly Content
Voice search is an entirely new way for people to interact with search engines like Google or Bing. A conventional Google search will open up pages consisting of 10 results each. The user will then have the option to choose the best result. However, voice search depends heavily on the search assistant. The search assistant will only read out the featured snippet for a query while ignoring every other result. That is what you want to target.
If you want to be leverage voice search you will have to reach the featured snippet result on a search engine results page. For that, you need to focus on creating voice-friendly content. There are a few ways you can do this, including:
- Using conversational, long-form content.
- Offering specific, relevant answers to specific voice queries.
- Using question-based H2 tags.
- Keep content readability as low as possible.
Targeting Specific Voice Queries
Voice search queries are not as general and varied as conventional searches. Most voice search queries actually have a very narrow band. They include:
- Queries about specific timeframes.
- Queries about specific physical locations.
- Queries about specific information.
What this means is, voice queries will be much more specific, and your content should contain keywords optimized for them. Try targeting several related voice search queries in the same content for better visibility.
Bing-Focused Voice Optimization
Google is by far the biggest focus of any optimization strategy. And that should come as no surprise, considering it has the largest share of the search engine market. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore other search engines. Each voice assistant gets its data from a different search engine. Google Voice Assistant uses Google while Cortana and Alexa use Bing. In fact, I found new fashion trends on Bing voice search. Plenty of people use Bing as a search engine. This means you also need to maintain a strong presence on Bing as well as on Google.
