One of the world’s most influential research and advisory firms, Forrester, recently published a report on the state of voice search and how digital marketing agencies should prepare for its ascendancy. The study was prompted by voice search’s ubiquity at “any conference, webinar, or article around the future of search marketing,” and endeavoured to answer questions such as: will voice search account for half of all searches within the next five years? And, will digital assistants become meaningful, pervasive tools for everyone from children doing homework to local businesses competing for an audience?
Forrester found that while “voice search is incredibly over-hyped today,” it is likely to have sweeping implications in the not-so-distant future.
Regarding voice search’s present immaturity, Forrester Analyst Collin Colburn wrote in a blog post that “people are largely not asking [voice-search enabled devices] questions or searching for things – instead, they’re telling them to look up traffic, play music, or turn off their living room lights.” In other words, optimizing for voice search today would likely yield tangible but resoundingly limited results.
But voice search in its current iteration is the tip of the iceberg: digital assistants are likely to become rapidly more sophisticated as customers acclimate to the new technology and demand more nuanced and natural interactions. Technology leaders like Google, Apple, and Microsoft will be able to process customers’ feedback and create a comfortable user experience that will present massive opportunities for advertisers and digital marketing agencies.
“With voice search in its infancy, now is the time for marketers to get ahead,” Colburn writes. “Identify the channels, websites, and apps that your customers find information in and look to create visibility for your brand in those places.”
As one of Google’s Premier Partner All-Star digital marketing agencies with access to valuable insights on Google’s preferred practices, GrowthEngine Media is always looking for new ways to help you reach your audience. Fledgling technologies like voice search are always on our radar as we pursue optimal search position for our clients.
