Before voice search, Google relied on written keywords to help users find things online. Then, the tech giant moves from keywords to user intent with the launch of the Hummingbird update. Now, it looks like Google is looking into the potential of spoken keywords. According to reports, voice search is growing and the tech giant is making huge investments in products that use this technology.
One of these products is Google Home, a speaker that is home to the new Google assistant platform. Similar to Siri (iOS) and Amazon Echo, this device is designed to help users complete tasks in the real world like booking reservations or looking up stuff online. It will be available later this year.
According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, [Tweet ” 20% of all queries on Google’s mobile app & Android devices are voice searches.”]With Google supporting the production of devices that utilise voice searches, marketers and business should make all the necessary preparations so they can adapt to the growth of this technology. However, voice searches are not without their limitations.
1. No measurable data
One of the biggest problems with voice search is that in its current form, it has no way of tracking it. Unlike with written keywords, you cannot easily determine how voice search affects your sales and conversions. However, there are rumours circulating that Google will provide marketers with Voice Search/Conversational Search data in Search Console. Also, many marketers are hopeful that by the time Google launches the Home device, the tech giant would have improved or even perfected the technology behind measuring voice search data.
2. Lack of control
According to Joe Youngblood of Search Engine Land, another problem with Google assistant is that it gives publishers or website owners limited control and controlling things by voice may not be compatible with every business model. He explained that Google is “already taking content from publishers and using it in voice search to provide answers without allowing control over the display and usage of that copyrighted content.”
For example, during the announcement of Google Home, the video showed a young child how many stars are there in the galaxy. Google answered the questions by obtaining information from Space.com. Youngblood believes that this trend could affect page view growth of websites and is likely to decrease advertising impressions. Also, if your website thrives on providing unique information and then Google decides to give answers via voice using data from your site, there’s a risk that you’ll lose web traffic with the growth of voice search.
*http://searchengineland.com/marketers-need-know-google-assistant-google-home-250112
