Voice searches have been growing in volume (excuse the pun) with the popularity of voice assistants. Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant have all made it as easy to run a voice search as it is to type in your query. And that’s why over 20% of all searches in the Google App now come from a voice activated query.
As a PPC marketer, do you need to be paying attention to this trend? And is a voice search marketing strategy for PPC even a thing?
How does voice search work?
Our digital devices are ready and waiting to be activated by a keyword… “Hey Siri!”, “OK Google…”, “Alexa…”
These activation words bring the digital assistant to life and allow them to listen to your query and deliver information from the internet, often in vocal form.
Although the majority of voice searches are still conducted via our personal devices, there is a growing arsenal of home devices which can conduct searches on our behalf. Now you can ask your fridge to add things to your shopping list, or ask Alexa to change the thermostat. The future is now.
In fact one in five American adults have access to a smart speaker in the home.
So, how does this work with pay per click marketing?
Paid search results for voice searches
At the time of writing (January 2021) there are no specific options to target paid voice activated search results on any platform.
The strategy would revolve around targeting the sort of queries that are asked via voice search, typically those that are worded as a question, often with a long tail format.
When it comes to voice searches, if you’re asking for information about local services, products or other saleable resources, the top results are still going to be paid.
And this is where your voice search strategy might come into play.
If a user asks Siri, “Hey Siri, I need someone to fix a broken sash window”
The first result for a service based query is going to be a paid search result. Exactly the same as for a typed query.
In this instance, it will likely bring up either a list of local business ads, or sometimes the Google (or Apple) Maps results.
Looking at another type of general query:
“OK Google, how much does a wedding dress cost?”
Or…
“Alexa, when is the best time of year to go camping in Scotland?”
With the spoken results, these will usually be organic, that is, from the top search result in Google (or Bing in the case of Alexa).
But, these will be accompanied by paid or organic results on the device. In these examples, it might be Google Shopping or Amazon’s sponsored results for products.
How can you use this in your marketing strategy?
What this means is that if you’re not already targeting long tail keywords, you definitely should be.
By increasing your understanding of the common questions around your industry, and how to answer them, you’re going to be helping your voice search results. Of course, this will also inform your organic content strategy too, and help you come up with content to answer these queries.
Targeting voice search is still in its infancy. And as a specific marketing tool, it is very much undeveloped. But hitting those voice activated queries is definitely something that should be kept in mind when creating PPC campaigns, looking for cost effective keywords and managing your general content and search strategy.
So, do you actually need a voice search marketing strategy in 2021?
Not specifically. But with the amount of voice searches increasing, and with people relying more and more on smart speakers and assistants, it’s definitely an area to watch for the future.
Watching your paid search results
Voice search marketing is definitely going to pick up steam in the coming years, so stay tuned. Even though you can’t make paid voice search a thing, yet, it’s just a matter of time.
A constant with search marketing is the continuing prevalence of click fraud. With one in four clicks on your paid ads coming from non-genuine sources, understanding how this impacts your marketing budget is more important than ever.
Click fraud is basically where a bot or malicious actor clicks on your paid ad. This costs you money, lowers your chances of showing your ad at the right time and can even impact your quality score.
Using fraud prevention software is the best way to manage click fraud, with ClickCease offering the best protection in the industry. Sign up for your free trial today and discover exactly how many non-genuine clicks your ads are getting.
