By the end of this year, voice searches will account for more than half of all online searches. With the development of devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo, voice search continues to grow. And if you don’t currently use voice search optimization, you’re missing out on valuable leads and revenue.
Still not sure if voice search optimization is worth it? In this post, we’ll share 13 voice search statistics that prove you should start investing in voice search optimization. Just keep reading, or give us a call at 888-601-5359 to learn more!
1. Voice search generates more than $2 billion in sales
SEO for voice search is an extremely lucrative form of marketing. Though it’s only become popular in recent years, current voice search statistics show voice search has driven over $2 billion in sales, proving the importance of voice search optimization for leads, sales, and revenue.
Why does this matter to my business?
The fact that voice search has already driven over $2 billion in sales speaks to its growth and ability to earn revenue for your business. Users conduct voice searches to research and buy products, and optimizing for voice search allows you to capture valuable leads and sales.
Voice search optimization is especially important if you are an ecommerce business. Many voice searchers want to order specific products, and you want to make sure they can easily find and purchase your offerings.
How do I drive sales with voice search optimization?
If you want to use voice search to your advantage, you must adapt your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. With voice search devices, people search differently than they do when conducting traditional online searches.
If you want them to find your products, you must adapt your content to target the keywords and phrases people use when searching by voice. First, you’ll want to choose keywords that will help you appear in relevant product searches. Let’s say you sell sporting goods and outdoor gear.
You’re trying to reach voice searchers looking to purchase women’s hiking boots. Voice search devices look at your page titles and product descriptions in order to return relevant results, so you’ll want to focus on optimizing your listings to match relevant searches. As you integrate keywords, you’ll also want to consider how people search for products.
With voice searches, most searchers pose queries as questions. Instead of searching “women’s hiking boots,” they ask, “where can I buy women’s hiking boots?” When creating your site content, keep this in mind, so you can adapt your SEO strategy and earn more revenue from voice search sales.
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2. By 2024, voice search sales are projected to reach $60 billion
Voice search stats show voice search has already grown exponentially — and it shows no signs of slowing down, with marketers predicting voice search sales will reach $40 billion in the next year. As more people gain access to voice search devices, expect voice search sales to multiply.
Why does this matter to my business?
As more people use voice search devices to buy products, you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to reach them and earn valuable conversions. If voice search optimization isn’t already part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to add it to the mix.
How do I boost revenue with voice search optimization?
Like I mentioned, it’s important to target keywords that match voice searches.
When you optimize your site with voice search SEO, focus on conversational keywords and phrases that appeal to voice searchers and help you close more sales.
3. 1 billion voice searches are conducted each month
Whether searching for businesses, products, or information, users conduct over one billion voice searches each month according to current voice search statistics.
Why does this matter to my business?
With so many people using voice search devices, there’s a good chance at least a portion of your target audience conducts voice searches. Voice search is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to find information online — and if people conduct searches related to your business, you want to be featured in results.
How do use voice search optimization to appear in more search results?
If you want to appear in more voice search results, you can start by creating voice-search-optimized content. Content creation helps you appear in more voice search results, so you can drive brand awareness, site traffic, and purchases.
You can create blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and more to provide your audience with valuable information. If your content is informative and answers searchers’ queries, you’ll have a better chance of appearing in more voice searches. Creating content that’s optimized for Position Zero (P0) will also boost your rankings since voice search results pull information directly from featured snippets (more on those next).
Overall, a healthy content plan can help you appear in more voice searches and increase brand exposure.
4. 50% of voice search results pull information from featured snippets
Featured snippets are crucial for voice search marketing — and half of voice search results come directly from featured snippets. Featured snippets or P0 results often contain straightforward answers that provide searchers with the information they need.
Why does this matter to my business?
When users conduct voice search queries, devices often pull result information directly from featured snippets. After a voice search device reads the content from a featured snippet, it usually sends users a link to the site where the information originated. If your information appears in the featured snippet, you gain brand exposure and growth-driving traffic to your website.
For example, if someone searches, “What are some egg substitutes for baking?” a voice search device will respond with “According to [brand name],” along with a short answer. This brand exposure positions your business as an authority in your industry and encourages people to choose you over competitors.
How do I earn more featured snippets with voice search optimization?
When it comes to earning featured snippets, there’s no magic formula for gaining a coveted spot. The best thing you can do is use P0-friendly formatting to help your content rank in voice search results.
Let’s say you’re writing an article about camping safety tips and you want to earn a featured snippet. Adding lists, bullet points, tables, and short, direct answers will help your article appear in P0. You could create a numbered list with each of your tips and go deeper into explaining what your tips mean.
It may look something like this:
“1. Know how to spot poison ivy When you’re embarking on your hiking trip, you’re bound to run into poison ivy. If you aren’t familiar with how to spot poison ivy…”
Creating a numbered list increases your chances of appearing in the featured snippet. Numbered lists provide your audience with information quickly, without going too in-depth.
Now, let’s say you wanted to earn a featured snippet for the search, “what is poison ivy?” To earn the P0 spot, you’ll want to include a paragraph that directly answers the question and use the rest of your article to provide in-depth information that supports the query. If you can incorporate bullet points and lists in your answer, that’s even better! To appear in more featured snippets — and ultimately voice search results — use content to directly answer search queries with valuable information.
Search engines are more likely to feature your business in the featured snippet if you provide clear and informative content.
5. 55% of people use voice search to find local businesses
Local search is a crucial component of voice search. Whether using a voice search device or mobile phone, over 55% of people use these devices to find local businesses.
Why does this matter to my business?
Local marketing is crucial for connecting with qualified leads near you. Since people use voice search to find local businesses like yours, you need to adapt your local SEO strategy to reach them.
How do earn more local leads with voice search optimization?
To follow voice search trends for attracting local leads, start by integrating local keywords in your site content.
Local keywords will help more people find your business if they are in the area. Many people who conduct local searches on voice search devices use the phrase “near me.” If you want to appear in more “near me” searches, you’ll want to rank for local keywords that use your specific location or city. If you’re a Chinese restaurant, you could target, “Chinese food near Harrisburg, PA” or “Chinese food near me.” Then, if voice searchers in your area look for a business like yours, you’re more likely to appear in results.
By targeting the right keywords, you’ll help your business appear in more local voice searches.
6. 31% of smartphone owners worldwide use voice search at least once a week
With 31% of smartphone users, across the globe, using voice search at least once a week, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to engage these leads.
Why does this matter to my business?
This statistic is proof that you can’t limit your voice search optimization to just home devices like Google Home or Amazon Echo. Voice search plays a prominent role in how users conduct searches on mobile devices, too.
How do I reach voice searchers on mobile?
To reach more mobile voice searchers, you’ll want to incorporate responsive design. If mobile voice searchers like what they hear and want to check out your website to learn more, your site needs to adapt to the device they’re using.
Responsive design ensures your website adapts to whatever device someone uses from mobile phones to tablets or desktop computers. This ensures they have a positive user experience (UX) and can easily find the information they need to take the next step.
7. 22% of voice search queries look for location-based content
Many people use their voice search programs to find local businesses or local content. According to voice search stats, twenty-two percent of voice search queries focus on location-based content.
Why does this matter to my business?
This statistic shows the importance of local search and voice search. If people are using voice search devices to find local content, you must provide them with the valuable content they need.
It’s a great opportunity for you to drive these voice searchers to your business.
How do I reach more local leads voice search?
First, you’ll need to claim your Google My Business listing. When people conduct voice searches, they search for local businesses or information about businesses near them. The local business listings they see come from Google My Business.
You’ll start by claiming your listing. Once you claim your listing, you’ll want to fill it out completely. This process entails verifying your name and address.
You’ll also add contact information, like a phone number and email address. Next, add photos to your listings. Photos provide your audience will valuable insight into your business.
They can see your products, place of business, employees, and more. You’ll also want to add a short blurb about your business in the description. This part tells your audience a little bit about your business.
By claiming your Google My Business listing, you’ll help your company appear in more mobile voice searches.
8. 20% of searches on mobile devices are voice-based
As mobile search becomes more prominent, so do voice-based searches on mobile. In fact, 20% of searches on mobile devices are voice-based. This number will continue to grow as voice search technology gets better.
Why does this matter to my business?
As stated previously, this statistic indicates that mobile voice search is an important factor in mobile searching.
If you want to prevent your business from excluding mobile voice searchers, you must adapt your strategy to appease these searchers.
How do I adapt to voice-based mobile searches?
A great way to adapt to voice-based mobile searches is to answer potential questions directly. When people conduct searches on mobile devices, they want answers fast. You can help them find the information they need quickly by creating FAQ pages.
FAQ pages help you provide your audience with important information quickly. You answer common questions surrounding your business and industry and provide your audience with quick answers. For example, a common question is “how much does (product or service) cost?” To help your mobile voice searchers find the information fast, you can include this information in an FAQ to make it more likely to appear in the featured snippet.
FAQs allow you to answer questions quickly and efficiently. You don’t spend an entire page answering one question. With a few sentences, you can provide your audience with the information they need and send them on their way.
If you want to reach more mobile voice searchers, create FAQ pages to help answer their questions fast.
9. 53% of 18-36-year-olds own smart speakers
When you’re trying to create a voice search optimization plan, you must know who uses these devices. In the U.S., 53% of 18-36-year-olds own a smart speaker device. If you’re targeting people in this age demographic, it’s a great opportunity to reach them where they’re likely to search.
Why does this matter to my business?
An important part of marketing segmentation and targeting is knowing where your audience engages online.
With this information, you can create a strategy that helps you reach target consumers.
How do I reach more smart speaker users with voice search optimization?
If you want to reach people who use smart speakers, you must understand how they search on these devices. It’s important to adapt your strategy to reach these leads. The best way to adapt to smart speaker searches is to understand how your audience searches.
What types of voice search queries do they conduct surrounding your business? How do they ask questions? It’s important to understand how your audience asks questions, as well as the types of questions they ask.
When you know these two factors, you can adapt your voice search optimization strategy to reach your audience better.
10. 65% of consumers 25-49 user their voice-enabled devices at least once every day
Eighteen to thirty-six-year-olds aren’t the only ones using voice search devices. In fact, 65% of people ages 25-49 use voice-enabled devices at least once a day.
Why does this matter to my business?
Voice search is growing, and more people use these devices to find important information about products and services. If people conduct voice searches every day, you want to ensure that you’re adapting your online presence to appear in relevant voice search queries.
How do I connect with frequent voice searchers?
If you want to reach users who search every day, you must know what they’re searching.
Get to know your audience better, and find out the types of questions they ask their search devices. Then, you can create content to answer questions and help more leads find your business
11. 65% of smart speaker owners are comfortable purchasing on their smart speaker
As voice search technology becomes better, more people get comfortable using it. A whopping 65% of smart speaker owners feel comfortable using them to purchase products and services.
Why does this matter to my business?
You don’t want to miss any opportunities to earn conversions for your business. If people are comfortable purchasing via voice search devices, you need to use voice search optimization to make sure you appear when they search.
Without it, you risk losing valuable leads, conversions, and sales.
How do I earn more conversions with voice search devices?
If you want to earn more conversions through voice search devices, you must have a strong voice search SEO campaign. Your products can’t appear on the top page of results if you aren’t adapting your strategy to help them rank higher. You can start by optimizing your SEO strategy to drive better results.
Some adaptations include:
- Choosing relevant keywords that voice searchers use (including slang words)
- Create valuable content that helps voice searchers find your business
- Optimize headers, titles, and meta descriptions with keywords to help Google rank you in the right voice search queries
By optimizing your SEO campaign, you’ll help your business earn more conversions through voice searches.
12. 59% of smart speaker owners say it feels natural to talk to voice search devices
Many people — 59% to be exact — are comfortable using voice search devices to find information.
Why does this matter to my business?
If people are comfortable using these devices, they’re going to use them more often. As these voice search devices become smarter, more people will get comfortable with using them. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to obtain leads where they’re searching.
How do I adapt my phrasing to reach voice searchers?
People enjoy using voice search devices because they can comfortably ask questions without having to think too in-depth about it.
If you want to reach users who search on these devices, you must adapt to the way they search on these devices. When people conduct voice searches, they speak naturally to these devices. It’s important to know how your audience searches, so you can adapt to the way they search.
For example, you may be in a region where people say “soda” instead of “pop.” If you’re trying to reach people who use “soda,” you want to use that phrasing on your site so people can find your page in the search results. To see success with voice search optimization, adapt your strategy for local slang to ensure you’re reaching people and how they search.
13. 65% of all voice search queries are conversational
When you’re adapting to voice search, it’s crucial to understand how users conduct queries on these devices. According to voice search statistics, sixty-five percent of all voice search queries take a conversational tone. As we stated previously, people are comfortable using these devices and asking them questions
Why does this matter to my business?
If you want to reach people through voice search, you must adapt to how they search.
It’s important to understand what they say and how they say it. When you know that information, you help your business adapt to reach more voice searchers.
How do I adapt my voice search strategy for conversational tones?
If you want to rank in conversational queries, focus on how users search on these devices. The important thing to know is that users typically ask questions to their voice search devices, rather than keywords.
For example, someone will search, “Where are the best places to get a cheesesteak?” rather than, “Best places to get cheesesteaks.” You want to adapt your content to answer question-based searches. You can do this by addressing questions on your pages and content. Use common queries surrounding your topic as headers and answer those questions beneath it.
It will help you answer common questions and make your business more likely to appear in search queries for these types of questions.
6 Bonus Voice Search Statistics
Check out these six bonus voice search statistics:
- More than 50% of voice-enabled speaker owners would like to receive updates about deals, promotions and sales from brands. (Source)
- Two out of five adults use voice search at least one time per day. (Source)
- 97% of voice answers rank in the top ten. (Source)
- 80% of voice answers come from the top three search results. (Source)
- 70% of voice answers occupied a search engine results page (SERP) feature, like the featured snippet. (Source)
- 60% of voice answers are the featured snippet. (Source)
Our digital marketing campaigns impact the metrics that improve your bottom line.
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Start reaching more voice searchers today!
These voice search stats are proof of the effectiveness of voice search optimization. If you want to reach more people searching through these devices, you must adopt a voice search marketing strategy. Featured snippet creation & optimization services from WebFX can help!
At WebFX, we have a team of over 500 experts who will bring their knowledge and expertise to your campaign. We’ll help you adapt your search strategy for voice search queries. You can rely on our experience to help you grow your business.
If you’re ready to experience the benefits of voice search optimization, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about adapting your marketing strategy for voice search trends.
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Macy is a marketing writer with over five years of experience creating content for dozens of industries including food and beverage, home services, and education. She also specializes in creating SEO and PPC content. Her work has been featured by Search Engine Journal, HubSpot, Entrepreneur, Clutch, and more. In her free time, Macy enjoys trying new crafts and reading comic books. -
WebFX is a full-service marketing agency with 1,100+ client reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Clutch! Find out how our expert team and revenue-accelerating tech can drive results for you! Learn more
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Table of Contents
- 1. Voice Search Generates More Than $2 Billion in Sales
- 2. by 2024, Voice Search Sales Are Projected to Reach $60 Billion
- 3. 1 Billion Voice Searches Are Conducted Each Month
- 4. 50% of Voice Search Results Pull Information from Featured Snippets
- 5. 55% of People Use Voice Search to Find Local Businesses
- 6. 31% of Smartphone Owners Worldwide Use Voice Search at Least Once a Week
- 7. 22% of Voice Search Queries Look for Location-based Content
- 8. 20% of Searches on Mobile Devices Are Voice-based
- 9. 53% of 18-36-year-olds Own Smart Speakers
- 10. 65% of Consumers 25-49 User Their Voice-enabled Devices at Least Once Every Day
- 11. 65% of Smart Speaker Owners Are Comfortable Purchasing on Their Smart Speaker
- 12. 59% of Smart Speaker Owners Say It Feels Natural to Talk to Voice Search Devices
- 13. 65% of All Voice Search Queries Are Conversational
- 6 Bonus Voice Search Statistics
- Start Reaching More Voice Searchers Today!
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