It was lunch time. But everyone at the office seemed bored of going to the same old restaurant.
As for me, having skipped my breakfast, I was famished and game for anything.
Just then a colleague came to the rescue, “Why don’t we try Japanese today?”
Without even waiting for others to respond, I quickly took out my Android smart phone and did a voice search, “Ok Google, Find me the nearest Japanese Restaurant!”
Google was quick to respond to my query with a list of four Japanese restaurants within a 2Km radius from our location. We chose the one closest (1.4Km). We reserved our table and ordered our food on our way to the restaurant; and within 20 minutes, I was happily gobbling my favourite ‘uramaki’ sushi.
- Google says that 20% of mobile queries are voice searches.
- The Meeker’s Report shows that since the launch of iPhone and Google Voice Search in 2008, the voice queries have increased 35 fold by now (2016).
- In five years, at least 50% of all searches are going to be either images or speech.(Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report)
With innovations in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Text-to-speech (TTS) technologies, voice searches are increasingly being used for search queries on smart phones, desktops, mobile devices and other wearables.
Virtual assistants like Google Now (Google); Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon) and Cortana(Microsoft) are increasingly being adept in determining the intent behind the user’s voice request, based on search history and context of the phrase – Thus fetching a direct result; rather than providing multiple Search Results Pages, which is often the case of text queries.
Why are voice searches increasingly being preferred over text searches? Let’s explore some differences:
1. Longer query length
Voice searches have more key words per query than text searches. Courtesy: moz.com
The query length for text searches is limited to 1-3 words, after which there is a sharp decline in use. The voice searches with more volume tend to hover around 3-4 words, after which there is a gradual decline through the tail. The text searches are more to do with computer language but voice searches tend to be more conversational with long sentences.
2. Usages of Question Phrases – Stronger Intent
With text based searches, you may type something like, “Japanese Restaurant”. Then you click on the obtained results, to find its location. With voice searches, you’ll simply ask, “Where is the nearest Japanese Restaurant?” This takes you immediately to the location of the desired outcome.
Voice searches are identified with the question words, such as: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How, which gives more clarity on the intent of the user. For instance, simply searching for ‘Japanese restaurant’ could also mean I’m looking for images of one; but when the query is associated with ‘Where?’ – Then it sure clarifies the intent and proves that I mean business.
3. More Local based – inducing quick actions
It is estimated that Mobile voice search is 3 times more likely to be local-based than text search – which is a clear tip for local businesses to up their game on ‘being found’ easily.
Long-tailed voice searches with clear intentions (usages of Where, How.. etc) will trigger more quick answers in the SERPs. For instance, ‘Where is the best mobile-repair-shop nearby?” Or ‘Where is the closest daycare centre?’
The results for these searches come equipped with phone numbers, or a ‘book now’ button, or reviews. You can easily fulfil your query, without even clicking on their websites.
It is but clear that the technological innovation in NLP and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a huge shift in the human behaviour and is redefining the way we consume our content, or perform our search.
We are already seeing the changes brought about by virtual assistants or the recent devices like Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Viv – or the voice recognition Apps like Shazam and Soundhound – All based on the premise of providing a simplified and seamless interface between we and world around us. And this could well mean (in the near future) the death of the mouse or the keyboard – A ‘digital ‘world which is run simply via gestures and voices.
If you would like to know more or would like to contribute to this article I want to hear from you.
Call Andy Fox (me) on (03) 5249-5570 or email andy@element7digital.com.au
Website is element7digital.com.au
