The Future of Voice Search And How You Can Capitalize it With Long-tail Keywords

As the world of technology grows exponentially, AI (Artificial Intelligence) voice recognition devices have also become the norm in a lot of households. Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant all utilize AI voice recognition capabilities. So, what exactly is voice search? Voice search allows users to speak into a device as opposed to typing keywords into the search bar to generate results.

Take Alexa for instance, you would ask her “Hey Alexa, how much does a table lamp with adjustable light cost?” instead of typing it out. This is convenient especially when you are driving in a vehicle that has Alexa integrated.

What is Considered as a Long-tail Keyword?

Long-tail keywords are those three and four keyword phrases which are very specific to whatever you are selling. Focusing on these type of keywords is a great SEO tactic. On the other hand, short tail keywords are more generic and contain only one or two words.

Keep in mind that when customers use long-tail keywords to search for a product on Amazon, they tend to have a specific product in mind that they are looking to purchase. This will increase the sales conversion rate compared to short-tail keywords that are more geared towards the comparison of products prior to making a purchase.

The Phillips curve below illustrates the concept mentioned above. Short-tail keywords have high competition and low conversion rate while long-tail keywords have lower competition and high conversion rate.

How Voice Search Impacts SEO Rankings

Voice search drastically improves user experiences. One of the popular predictions in relation to voice search is “By 2020, 50% of all searches will be conducted via voice”. This is particularly true since Amazon is heavily promoting all Alexa enabled devices and has already sold more than 100 million devices as of January this year.

Amazon has also launched their Alexa Developer Rewards program that allows developers to get paid for eligible skills that customers engage with the most and drive product sales. Amazon is also testing 15 to 30 seconds of audio ads on Alexa music to reach niche audiences driving sales for vendors. This means that sellers will be able to run audio ads in the near future.

How to Optimize for Voice Search

A change is coming soon, and it goes back to the way that voice search is highly dependent upon long-tail keywords. Here are the main 4 keyword optimization aspects that you should focus on:

• Product Listing Titles
• Bullet Points
• Product Description
• Backend Search Terms

To optimize for voice search, you need to write in the way that the customer would speak. It should sound as natural as possible.

Pro Tip: Incorporate the 5Ws (Who, where, when, why, what) and 1H (How) element in your long-tail keywords. For instance, “Where to hang the LED camping light?” or “How to use the battery-powered essential oil massager?”.

Keep in mind not to overdo it, long-tail keyword does not mean long-winded keyword. You need to make sure your long-tail keywords are simple, relevant, and clear so customers can understand the message you are trying to deliver.

Keyword Research Tool

So, how do you identify your best keywords? Whether it is short or long-tail keywords, you can use ZonGuru’s new Keywords On Fire tool to find keywords that will help you increase sales conversion rate.

Pro Tip: Check out the blog post on “Finding Your Best Keywords With ZonGuru’s Keywords On Fire Tool” HERE to learn the 3-step process on using the tool.

Final Thoughts

You probably have a lot of questions in mind but the main one is probably when should you start optimizing for voice search. Well, my advice would be to start now and keep optimizing for both voice and type searches. For a great Amazon SEO strategy, use both short and long-tail keywords in your product listings.

Do you think Amazon will soon emphasize more on voice search optimization or has it already begun? Share your thoughts with us below.