Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.
“There’s been steady growth in the use of smart speakers and voice assistants in the last 3 years. We can expect this trend to continue as this technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life. In 2024, we can expect that AI and generative search will help improve the results of voice searches by providing greater context in answers to questions and requests.”
Since the advent of voice search, the capabilities of voice-enabled devices have evolved to allow consumers to make increasingly complex and accurate searches. This technology is developing at a rapid pace to meet and exceed our expectations.
Phones, speakers, home assistants, and other voice-enabled devices are now part of our everyday lives. To understand how businesses can use this technology to appeal to users, we must look at the latest voice search trends.
This page will break down the following trends and give you plenty of voice search statistics to explain their relevance:
Join 200,000 smart marketers and get the month’s hottest marketing news and insights delivered straight to your inbox!
Enter your email below:
Inline Subscription Form – CTA 72
“*” indicates required fields
(Don’t worry, we’ll never share your information!)
1. People with smart speakers use voice search across devices
Based on the stats below, we know people are more likely to own multiple smart speaker devices. After purchasing one device, they see the value and buy additional speakers, which will capture additional and varying search queries.
As smart speaker usage increases, more people conduct voice searches online. If your website content isn’t optimized for voice search, you’re likely missing out on valuable traffic and leads. This continuing trend means that businesses must consider voice search for all their content.
Trust remains a barrier for voice search adoption. For the especially tech-savvy and skeptical, there is a level of concern about the safety of their data. This means that certain customer bases may be slower to adopt voice search.
Manufacturers will have to address this through product updates and relaying those improvements to potential smart speaker customers.
Stats to know
28% of people are concerned about smart speaker privacy and data security
52% of smart speaker owners worry that hackers could use their smart speaker to get access to their home or personal information
47% of smart speaker owners agree with this statement: “it bothers you that your smart speaker is always listening”
3. Voice search is available everywhere
While you might think of Amazon’s Alexa when you hear voice search, that’s not the only way people are searching.
Voice search is increasingly available in various applications, and more products are building in voice search as a feature. This allows products, particularly those of the same family, to learn how consumers interact with different devices and to better understand consumers.
You should also be targeting your content to all kinds of devices and making it universally accessible. Some ways to do this include:
Using accessible language
Adding questions and answers in the headings and body text
Using lists
These techniques mean that when someone searches for something, they can access this information through their speaker, smartphone, or other device.
If you have a content marketing strategy, you probably know that content is a big part of all other digital marketing. However, content is now even more important for targeting voice search.
Users are targeting specific keywords for most of their spoken searches. As marketers, our job is to take those keywords and implement them into our content naturally. You should also apply this sentiment to your ads by making sure they are interesting and appropriate for audio devices.
Stats to know
Nearly 20% of all voice searches are triggered by a set of 25 keywords (including “how,” “what,” “easy,” and “best”)
Owning a smart speaker and smartphone increases voice search usage. By having more than one voice assistant on hand, users are more likely to perform various searches and tasks throughout the day, increasing reliance on their voice assistants.
“A big trend focus is the increased adoption of smart speakers and highlighting the reasons why people are adopting them. Equally important is the growth in how parents are using smart speakers to entertain their children and help the elderly, so you can probably expect sustained growth in smart speakers since adoption/use is growing in different age cohorts.”
Most people who have their smart speakers and devices use them frequently, which opens the door to reach more people consistently. Based on the stats above, we can see why people get smart speakers and how they integrate them into daily life.
30% of smart speaker owners wanted their speaker to help an elderly person. 24% wanted theirs to help with a disability, and 49% wanted one to entertain children.
6. Voice search is waterfalling to older generations
General awareness of voice-enabled devices is high. Voice search has penetrated the U.S. market to an extent where only a small percentage of people are unfamiliar with the technology.
To no one’s surprise, the younger generation is driving adoption of voice search, which could have a waterfall effect on older generations, encouraging understanding and usage.
However, while Gen Z is driving adoption, it’s young and middle-aged adults who use voice search the most in their day-to-day lives. Businesses who target these customer segments will see the most benefit of optimizing for voice search.
Stats to know
18-24-year-olds are adopting voice technology faster than older groups
25-49-year-olds are more likely to be considered “heavy users” of voice search technology
7. Product information is crucial
People are using voice search to shop and learn about new products — that’s just a fact. Companies should make their product information appropriate for voice search, not just for websites.
Before, you could get by with just a product page. Now, people use voice search for conversational content, like “what should I pack for camping.” Creating content about your products and answering these conversational searches is a must.
Local search optimization is a must for small or local companies. Since a majority of people with smart speakers use them for local businesses, you’re missing out on potential leads if you aren’t targeting that audience.
The advancement of AI via machine learning is accelerating the adoption of voice search. That’s because the enhanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities will make it easier for voice assistants to understand and complete complex and important tasks, such as those involving money or health.
Along with improving the information generation capabilities, AI also helps voice assistants have their own “personality” and work with their owners. They will continue improving what information they give, and use feedback and related searches to improve their search process.
Now that you understand where voice search is heading, you are probably wondering where to get started. Here’s how you can begin optimizing for voice search queries:
Focus on keyword research: Identify high-value keywords and keywords that relate to your product or service.
Understand where you rank currently for those keywords: Identify gaps where you’re not ranking in the local pack or featured snippet.
Optimize your page for the keyword and search intent: Rather than writing fluff, focus on being clear and concise when writing answers.
Optimizing for voice search sounds easy enough, but if you want to be prepared for the onslaught of voice-driven queries, it’s best to take a holistic approach with the help of a voice search expert like WebFX.
93% of WebFX customers are extremely satisfied with their digital marketing results.
“Working with WebFX, everything is very organized and strategic. We’re only a year into our partnership, and our expectations have definitely been met.”
Voice search isn’t slowing down anytime soon. In fact, we’re heading into an era where we predominantly search by using our voices. To optimize your website for the way that users are searching, make sure you work with experts who understand the ins and outs of voice search optimization.
WebFX has experience driving results for voice search. Our voice search optimization services will incorporate the latest trends and make sure you’re attacking the SERPs. We will handle everything from content creation to results tracking and get your business in front of your audience.
If you’re interested in working with the qualified experts at WebFX, contact us online or give us a call at 888-601-5359!
Try our free SEO Checker
Boost your site’s search performance with our free SEO Checker. Analyze your website for optimization tips on titles, headers, content, speed, and more. Get a free report now to enhance rankings on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and beyond!
Use our free tool to get your score calculated in under 60 seconds.
Try our free SEO Checker
Boost your site’s search performance with our free SEO Checker. Analyze your website for optimization tips on titles, headers, content, speed, and more. Get a free report now to enhance rankings on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and beyond!
Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.
