Voice Search and Video are like peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, pickles and…ice cream?
Talking to technology has become a standard occurrence in my household. I’m in the living room reading a book, probably drinking a glass of red wine. My boyfriend is in the other room. He starts speaking loudly…something about football…“What did you say?” I yell to him.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” He responds. I go back to reading my book. It’s just the two of us, but I know what he means. He was either using voice search to look up something on Google, voice-to-texting someone, or asking Siri to launch his fantasy league app.
Voice search is becoming commonplace. Why? Because the technology is getting more sophisticated, and hands-free productivity is like magic. I holler at my Australian-accented Siri (yes, you can change voice) all the time while cooking to look up a quick conversion or read instructions to me. In certain situations, it’s safer to get information this way. It’s also easier.
In the U.S., more Google searches occur on mobile devices than on computers. And since the release of iPhone and Google Voice, voice search volume has grown 35 times greater. What does this mean? More people are searching for information on the go.
Pro Insight: An increase in on-the-go searches suggests that your audiences are likely preoccupied while engaging with your content and expecting fast information. Video is an excellent way to deliver on this expectation!
The Impact of Voice Search on Video Marketing
People are searching the web differently, and while this may seem like a minor detail, it’s actually more like the butterfly effect; it’s having a monumental impact on SEO and how marketers reach target audiences. Even the best writers type differently than they speak, which means their content doesn’t align with how people talk in real life. This presents a disadvantage if audiences use voice search. Video, on the other hand, uses natural dialogue, which is far more compatible with how audiences speak inquiries into voice search tools. This congruency means significant advantages for video SEO. But before we discuss how, let’s investigate voice search’s impacts on content marketing at large.
1. Growing Demand for Natural Discourse
When we search something via text, we’re conditioned to speak computer language. For example, we might type “5-star restaurants, 77002” for a list of the top restaurants in downtown Houston. But if we search this same inquiry via voice, we’re more likely to phrase it like we’re asking a friend. For example, “5-star restaurants located in downtown Houston, Texas?”
2. Long-Tail Keywords Replace Short
Natural dialect and voice search leads to longer phrased search queries, which changes the keywords that perform best. In textual searches, the top performing keywords usually consist of two words. But in voice search, three words or more perform better (Moz). For example, a company that specializes in backpacking gear might use the keyword “backpacking cookware” to target audiences. But audiences are including more detail in their voice searches. Instead, they might ask Google, “Where can I find a Sierra cookware set for sale near Sugar Land?” See how the short-form keywords miss the mark?
3. Local SEO is Increasingly Important
Local search has always been an important part of SEO strategy, but with keywords morphing into keyphrases, there’s more room for localized detail. In fact, 46 percent of all searches on Google are local. And voice searches are 3x more likely to reference a location.
4. Intent is Obvious
Verbose voice searches tell far more about a person’s intent. Pay close attention to the words being used to research your product or service, particularly the FAQ words (who, what, how, when, where).
In the spirit of fast answers for people on the go, short form content that’s direct and easy to digest is winning over long-form content that requires greater focus.
The Advantages of Voice Search for Video Marketing
The two weren’t exactly made for one another, but their compatibility is uncanny. Natural language drives voice search. It also makes up your video content. This shared foundation means we will likely start seeing a lot more videos on SERPs. That is, if video marketers put in the necessary effort.
SEO strategy is a major pain point for video marketers because Google search engines can’t crawl visual information. That means video still relies heavily on textual information to get found. But with the rise of keyphrases and natural language in voice search queries, video content is already in position to capitalize. In fact, your videos are like templates that should be used to create text-based content.
Another advantage is that video is the easiest, most effective and convincing way to illustrate a 2-way conversation. In video, questions are asked and answered, and this couldn't be more perfect for voice searches, which (as mentioned above) are commonly phrased as a question. Video captures both sides of the conversation, which covers more SEO ground.
Here’s the catch: you must adjust your SEO strategy to support video content and voice search. This will likely be one of your biggest challenges in 2017.
9 Quick Video Marketing Tips for Voice Search
Transcribe your videos and use the text to bolster SEO, or repurpose the text to support your overall content marketing strategy.
Incorporate FAQ words into your video content. You can do this easily by creating FAQ or Q&A videos.
Identify your most valuable question Optimize content by identifying keywords within these questions, and adjust bids for these terms.
Turn long videos into short, separate pieces. Each piece should speak more specifically to a question, idea or interest.
Incorporate strong meta descriptions, titles, and long-tail keyword targeting into your video distribution strategy.
Step up your local SEO game.
Tag relevant areas of your video with long-form keywords.
Include long-form keywords in the video description.
Embed search phrases in the video script.
Video marketers, we totally empathize with you. Staying ahead of trends like voice search isn't easy. But if you take our advice, lean into the change, and properly adjust SEO strategies to account for the butterfly effect that is voice search, you have a serious chance to outrank your competitors. Still don’t have your fill? Check out: 5 important video marketing trends to be ready for in 2017.
Voice Search and Video are like peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, pickles and…ice cream?
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