Ashad Rehman
“Ok Google, where’s the nearest gas station in my proximity?”, “Siri please play me the Beethoven lullaby”. “Alexa, what’s the best recipe for pain au chocolat? “Google, what is the cheapest flight from Paris to New York?”
Voice searches are quite common nowadays. Almost every other smartphone on the market is equipped with the voice search feature. I was a bit astonished when I learned that the Wall Street Journal has termed the voice search feature as “the next billion.” And in a way, I don’t think they are wrong.
Voice search is one of the most natural ways of communicating. Instead of typing out cumbersome search phrases in Google or Safari, one can simply hold a tap button and record their voice before sending it away to the vast pool of internet. Google revealed that more than 38% of individuals speak their search terms into a smartphone while watching television, whereas more than 23% individuals use the voice search functionality while cooking to reminisce a certain recipe or to find a substitute for a missing ingredient.
As more robust technologies are emerging on the market, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home, voice recognition is now becoming a more recognizable feature among the wider population.
At the heart of this storming wave of technology is a leisure we all love to delve in: Vacationing. For all that I am sure is that it is an amiable experience. I really enjoy taking these excursions from time to time with a small group of friends, to take some time off to unwind in a faraway island or a remote hill station. Because, let’s face it, we all need some time off from our hectic rat race schedules and visit our favorite travel destinations.
Tourists are more prone to searching for tour experiences, hotels, local cuisines, and other travel-related purchases on Google rather than visit the websites of respective vendors. This is why hospitality brands heavily rely on search engines for traffic. This puts the industry at the forefront of voice searches since tourists delving in a picturesque scenery or in the midst of admiring an architectural chronicle are more prone to speaking out their queries rather than bother with hassle some typing.
Traveling is no fun if we don’t have a tour guide. So how about your smartphone device becomes one for you? Sounds like an interesting option, doesn’t it?
It is now possible because the voice search has reached the doorsteps of our tourism industry.
The Role of Voice Search in the Website World and how it Benefits the Tourism Industry
Bryson Meunier, the infamous columnist, projects his views on voice recognition by stating:
“By understanding the nuances of voice search, marketers can do a better job of helping searchers find exactly what they’re looking for when they’re asking for it by voice.”
Indeed, the future is here and with the introduction of software chatbots such as Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Windows Cortana and Amazon Alexa, people everywhere are getting help without even typing out a single word. With a bit of research, I found out that each chatbot is intelligent in its own way, since they are based on highly intuitive algorithms. The machine-learning enables these bots to access necessary information such as geographical location, user preferences, search histories and more.
Yes, You Got It! Voice Search Boosts Website Traffic
The world is spinning fast, in fact too soon, even to comprehend. People don’t want to type in the whole question on google search any more. They prefer to make use of the voice search feature by voicing their queries into their smartphones, rather than going through the hassle of typing it all into their screens.
Every other website on the Internet requires keyword optimization to attract traffic. Imagine, if your site is optimized with keywords which are commonly used in regular conversations. Here is a scenario that will ring a bell: you and your spouse are wandering off into the valleys of Venice, the most culturally rich location across the Planet Earth. However, you are not exactly sure where to begin, so you fire up your Google Assistant and start chucking all sort of vague things that your mind can conjure up, its way. For instance, “where can I check Da Vinci’s famous artwork”, or “where can I find the San Zacarias & San Giobbe famed Altarpiece”?
Now, if you are a website owner, be empathetic. Put yourself into the shoes of your customers and comprehend what sort of keywords they are going to be capitalizing on. If you optimize your website content on the exact keywords based on your tourism location, you will be more apt to create better network traffic across your site.
What’s more is that you can give your website a more personalized appeal by adding a conversational tone to the content. Besides, results show that voice search keyword optimization provides better SERP results.
Make Use of Long-Tail Keywords in Content
Do you know that one thing which is losing its charm in the realm of SEO marketing? Its short-tail keywords. It’s not because they aren’t unique, it’s because they have lost their charisma in ranking. They are either highly competitive or they have to contend with a copious amount of search queries. With the rise of voice search and people searching their queries by asking complete questions in rather informal and conversational intonations, the market of short-tail keyword has been ultimately chucked down the drain unceremoniously.
If you have ever had the chance of talking a stroll along the Southside beach in Chicago, you will realize that half the youngsters have their hands busy tinkering with the voice search feature by asking a wide array of questions. Most of these questions are rather silly it seems, but they all have a unique element in them. Some are searching for an ice cream shop; others are look for viable jet-ski spots to hit upon; while some may even be clandestinely looking for the best exotic body massages in the vicinity.
These unique elements essentially boil down to long-tail keywords, which could be something that Tony, the skateboard boy, may not be able to identify, but an SEO specialist at a digital tech firm would. They make use of these unique elements by peppering them strategically throughout their websites (mostly on the landing pages) and before you know it, your website is already ranking on those specific keywords.
Voice Search Can Be Optimized with FAQ Keywords
All that search you are about to perform on long-tail keywords isn’t going to be limited to voice search alone. If you are under the impression of merely optimizing your landing pages with it, you cannot be more wrong. You can leverage the power of your long-tail keywords in your FAQs as well.
As we discussed earlier, most search queries performed using the voice search feature are in the form of complete questions. A way of helping others is to add those exact questions in your FAQ page. With a bit of brainstorming and research, one can quickly identify which long tail keywords can help customers collect appropriate information.
One should also strive to keep the tone of FAQs as natural as possible. Some websites take a different approach by creating a web of interlinked FAQ pages. Each question interlinks in the answer of another to help customers identify what more does the business have to offer. It establishes a grid-like structure, assisting customers in navigating and sticking around on the website easily. Isn’t that the ultimate goal, irrespective of the industry you belong to?
Semantic Search Will Play an Important Role
Google is dependent on a number of factors, in addition to keywords. There are some specifics, such as analyzing the previous search patterns of a user to identify their needs. Using base algorithms to identify what visitors are searching for, Google then recommends its customers the exact product or service that they are seeking.
This capability of search engines is known as semantic search. In other words, there is no harm in claiming that Google is now becoming smart enough to identify what customers are searching for. While tourists who are visiting different parts of the world make use of the voice search feature to find out the local areas and attractions within their vacation destination, Google automatically identifies what places the customer is searching for and then offers its own recommendations and suggestions accordingly.
Take an example; if you are in the heart of Los Angeles and you want to watch this really cool movie, “The Quiet Place,” what do you do? You pull out your phone. You reach out and make use of Siri, Cortana or Google to assist you in finding where it is being aired. It shows you all the relevant cinemas in your vicinity, but that’s not all there is to it. What if the voice search feature helps identify what other amazing movies are being shown across different theatres of the city! Maybe, it can convince you to change your mind and watch another movie altogether.
Ok Google! We Are Ready to Win in Voice Search Now!
It might sound like a hefty process to go through all the dividends to supervise an effective implementation, but just imagine how beneficial it can be for you, when more clients walk in through the doors of your resort. Your returns will maximize manifolds to what you are accustomed to earning, and your business will be well-optimized for the crowds using the voice search feature.
More than 60% of individuals using smartphones are well connected to the world, and you may often find one or two using the voice search feature while strolling around in the park or sitting at your favorite spot at the beach. So, I leave the decision entirely in your hands, you take the lead and decide what will work best for you, I will part ways by posing only one question:
What if your competitor is already implementing some hardline strategy to work with voice search and you’re not? Think about it.
Ashad Rehman
Adam McGriffin