Not long ago, voice commands were a symbol of technology advancement that was often used by sci-fi movies. Today, voice commands are being used to perform numerous daily tasks – it’s become so mundane that you can order a pizza by simply giving a short voice command to your Xbox and not even think about it.
But while we are all becoming accustomed to using voice commands and voice search in our daily lives, will marketers find ways of using them to create relevant PPC campaigns?
According to KPCB’s report on Internet Trends, one in ten search engine queries happen using voice search, and that number is bound to grow in the coming years. That means that this is a segment of the market that’s getting very difficult to ignore for marketers.
But do you need a different strategy for voice search PPC?
The short answer is yes.
Since voice search is much more intuitive and natural because it is spoken instead of being written, it differs significantly from traditional written-queries.
Here are just a few areas where voice search brings a new dimension to search engine marketing:
Local-oriented
According to Search Engine Watch, voice searches are three times more likely to be local than text searches. That means big opportunities for local businesses that want to reach a new segment of their audience.
Take time to figure out local landmarks or significant locations that might get used as a search reference using voice queries – you might find very cost-effective keywords for PPC campaigns.
More questions
In speech patterns, it is much more common to perform queries via question than with a phrase. Think about your casual conversations with friends or colleagues – you would probably simply ask a specific question like “what’s the shortest route to Dallas from Houston?”, instead of simply typing in “Dallas to Houston route”.
We tend to write our queries in the shortest possible way, but when speaking, the sentences become much more structured.
Length
Just as it was apparent from the more natural-sounding questions, people don’t speak the same as they write. And that also makes the voice queries longer – even if the length difference is just a few words, they add a lot in terms of readability. Once again, text queries are often the shortest way to ask something, while spoken searches sound more natural as sentences.
Intent
Perhaps the most powerful way using which PPC marketers can use voice search is by utilizing its tendency to reveal intent. When people search for some product or service, it can be difficult to discern whether they’re simply doing research or are actively looking to buy.
This ambiguity of the search queries often reduces the cost-effectiveness of the ads, but that is not nearly as big of a problem with voice search. Recognizing spoken-language words such as “the”, “to the” and similar that aren’t likely to be typed out can help marketers get in front of the audience that is already actively looking to buy solutions, instead of just browsing.
How to Start with voice Search PPC
If you want to get an early start on your voice query PPC campaigns, you’ll need to get creative in order to discover the best approaches, but the effort you put in will be well worth it if it allows you to tap into new audiences that are ready to buy now.
Here are a few things you could do to make your voice search PPC campaigns a success:
Look for longer keywords.
As you might have gathered from the previous section, voice queries tend to be longer, often around seven words. So this is a good place to start when considering your options for keywords.
While long-tail keywords have been a big part of any PPC campaign for a while now, voice queries aren’t just about length, but instead, they are about the length and the natural flow of the sentences.
Therefore, looking for keywords that read more like spoken sentences than short, written barbs is a good place to start.
Make the message relevant.
Someone using voice search isn’t going to spend much more than a split-second deciding on which result to use, so you better make that split-second count – make your ad grab attention and then provide the exact answer to the question they were asking.
Something as simple as the right answer at the right time can be enough to get you clicks instead of the competitors.
Make it easy to take action.
People using voice search are ready to act – they’re actively looking for solutions and if they find something they like, they can go for it immediately.
That’s why you must provide them with an easy way to perform an action – incorporate action links, as well as call and location extensions into your ads.
