Consequently, these last years will also be the true turning point for local businesses that will also compete for local research.
Nowadays, on the local SEO side, the landscape has become increasingly complex, just think that Google has reduced the number of local results from a list of a maximum of 7 results to only 3 results. Furthermore, if you analyze the evolution of the Google My Business card, you will notice that with the arrival of POSTs and the "Questions and Answers" section, the same card is becoming a mini social network for your business. The result is that it is no longer necessary to visit a company to obtain the required information. Furthermore, as if that were not enough, these micro-updates undermine the tiresome work of creating quality content for the user over time to at least visit our website.
If we then add voice search, we can expect something that will further disrupt the market by putting on the plate an even more varied set of challenges and opportunities for those who work every day to emerge on the web.
We also added the upcoming release of Google Duplex who will be able to call local activities instead of the user by naturally replicating human behavior by actively interacting in the conversation. Currently the service will be active for everything related to reservations or orders, but this first phase is easy to think, it will be used by Google to perfect artificial intelligence and allow the Google assistant to perform increasingly complex actions. Currently, Google Assistant's AI allows it to respond even to complex judgments and make decisions based on what the initial order given by the user was, such as spelling the name if it is when reserving a seat in a restaurant. , does not understand correctly, or wait for the digits of a telephone number to be pronounced if the interlocutor repeats them.
Leaving aside the ethical implications, the future that this new tool holds for us is quite complex and this makes us understand how important it is for Google to have complete upstream information. Google Duplex could be the one who answers instead of a human to customers who call to reserve a restaurant. What would happen if there are no opening days on the GMB form and the customer reserves a seat on the closing day? This is AI, not a human being.
What do customers search for most through voice search?
Recent studies carried out by several American companies specialized in Local Search, show that today's users are increasingly inclined to reserve services, a table in a restaurant or meals, without interacting with human beings. Think about the new features that Google Duplex will introduce, paradoxically it will be possible to reserve a table at the restaurant simply by chatting with a voice assistant on the phone, or simply by having 2 voice assistants talk to each other, ours and the other. from the restaurant If we do a self-analysis, how many times have we booked a table with Thefork, Justeat or Deliveroo? Why do we do it? Simply because it can be done in front of a PC, without the reservation manager on the other hand rushing us, or suggesting dishes that in the end are not to our liking and perhaps even cost more.
If we look at the main ways to use voice commands, it is not difficult to imagine how the 3 main functions used with voice search are finding a restaurant or calling it, finding restaurants that deliver food, or various stores or, for example, accommodation facilities such as a hotel.
This mirrors exactly what Google is doing in the voice search strategy it is slowly revealing. The biggest recent development in this sense is Google Duplex, a "personal secretary" who, as we have already mentioned, will be able to make calls for us in the main services such as, for example, "make an appointment at the hairdresser" or "reserve a restaurant."
How often are local businesses searched for using voice search?
But let's look at how often a user uses voice search through Google Assistant to find local businesses. If you look at Google statistics for voice search studies, you will see that globally, about 46% of daily voice searches are for local business research. This indicates that if we consider Google Assistant, Alexa, Cortana, Siri and the remaining voice assistants, about half of the users use them to get details about local activities every day.
Therefore, we can deduce that voice search is completely revolutionizing the way we interact with the web and with local reference companies. Until a few years ago we had the number of our favorite restaurant in the phone book to have on hand when you had to organize a dinner with friends. Today, the number of people saving for a restaurant is falling drastically. Because? Simply because it is easier to tell the Google assistant "call restaurant .
What can local businesses do with voice search?
Although the diffusion of devices that have the use of voice commands as their prerogative (such as Google Home), voice search is still in an embryonic state and few activities are trying to adapt to beat the competition over time. Optimizing your website and GMB tab for voice search can be the key to unlocking your chances of appearing in voice search results. After all, voice commands simply translate the information found on the web by voice, evaluating which ones are certainly safe and, in any case, most relevant based on the user's request. Focusing on voice search for local businesses can certainly ensure a competitive advantage that should not be underestimated because, as is often the case.
If the website is not structured correctly and does not use structured data, it is likely that the voice assistant will not use the contents it contains to return results for non-local searches. Google has stated that structured data will be what will have tremendous value in ranking featured snippets and rich results. So, as a result, it is clear that aligning the website with up-front requests on these terms can allow the website to rank ahead of most of the competition. Structured data is already a consolidated reality with a great impact on ranking, especially in some products.
Once the structured data is set up, it's time to go back to our old local SEO. When users use their voice to find local businesses, Google is much more likely to return results from the local pack. But ranking in the top 3 in this type of search is not that simple.
If you don't know what they are, I suggest you see our guide on how to optimize your Google My business card.
When using voice search on the go, proximity plays a prominent role in terms of ranking, as Google is aware that people who search for “restaurant,” for example, are very likely to be searching for something in the immediate future. . proximity rather than something that is close, for example, to a workplace or home. This factor will be less important if, for example, the search will be done from a device connected to a Wi-Fi network for which proximity may not be such a relevant factor at that moment since they are probably planning trips. All this must be taken into account if you want to appear in voice searches, so we recommend:
- Create search-relevant content for users who are more inclined to use voice search.
- Design your Google My business card to ensure it can best respond to user requests passing by.
- Always keep the focus on your competitors' voice searches. If they are the ones who occupy the first position, it is time to carefully study their movements and understand why Google finds their content more relevant.
Conclusions:
Voice search has been growing exponentially in recent months, and when this happens, search engines try to quickly adapt to the new behaviors of their users to always keep high the quality of the answers they give to search queries and especially answers that can be used. in the shortest time possible. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize your website and your Google my business card to take into account the constant and continuous increase in mobile web use. However, what we recommend is to consider optimization aimed at improving the user experience first and foremost. History teaches us that many local businesses have failed because they were not prepared for the arrival of the Internet and the web.
If you need advice or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact contact with We will support you so that you are always aware of the news that search engines constantly introduce.
