The era we are living in is quite interesting. Isn’t it?

We, humans, talk to inanimate objects every now and then. But you know what’s the best part? It’s the responses that we get; all thanks to the portable digital assistants that we have with us all the time. These assistants simply listen to our voices, no matter how coarse they might be, and bring us the desired results within the blink of an eye. All we do is give them voice commands and these assistants try their best to deliver us the results within seconds.

This experience, known as voice search, is growing exponentially, due to obvious reasons a) its ease of use b) the emergence of smart devices with voice technology – Apple’s Siri, Alexa, Google Home, or Microsoft’s Cortana are the living examples of this innovative technology. And there’s no doubt that people adore them!

However, talking about eCommerce, or Magento in particular, which is known for its frequent upgrades to support the latest technology, has been working on voice search optimization for quite a long time now, and a smoother user experience isn’t the only reason.

Let’s have a look at some voice search statistics and figure out the other reasons:

• As stated in the OC&C Strategy Consultants report, the total amount of money spent on shopping via a voice assistant will increase by up to $40 billion in 2022 from just $2 billion in 2018.
• 27% of worldwide smartphone users already use Voice Search.
• Global smart speaker revenue is predicted to reach $35.5 billion by 2025. (Loup Ventures/Statista, 2020)
• 52.8% of people use a search assistant when driving.

Well, the figures say a lot and indicate that voice search is going anywhere soon. In fact, it is going to bloom. Thus, as a Magento 2 store owner, you must adapt to the latest technology to gain a competitive advantage, along with other benefits. So, without further ado, let’s get down to Magento optimization for voice search and everything that comes in between.

In this article:

• Why should you optimize your Magento store for voice search?
  • Accessibility
  • Speed
  • Convenience
• How does voice search influence the Magento shopping?
• How to optimize your Magento store for voice search?
  • Mobile optimization
  • Improve page loading speed
  • Aim for google zero blocks or zero position
  • Use long-tail keywords
  • Structure your store according to the customer journey map
• Conclusion

Why Optimize Your Magento Store For Voice Search?

People use voice search majorly because of the following reasons:

Accessibility

When it comes to accessibility, voice search is a clear winner.

It is incredibly helpful for people with physical disabilities, cognitive and learning impairment as technically impossible or difficult for people with such disabilities to manually type a search request. Voice search comes as a blessing for them by helping them make unlimited requests through voice commands. Also, people who are unable to type because of temporary limitations (for instance, a broken thumb) can benefit from voice search.

Speed

This goes without saying, giving a voice command to a device is much faster than typing manually. People can search or enter any type of information using voice search and get the desired results comparatively fast while saving a lot of time.

Convenience

Regardless of where your users are or what they are up to, voice search is available everywhere, every time. In other words, it is available on-the-go.

Further, several smart speakers nowadays come with AI which can easily analyze the shopping history of your visitors and offer results accordingly. For instance, if your Magento 2 store offers medicines, AI learns that your customer needs to buy new medication every month and accordingly reminds them to add the same to the shopping cart.

How Does Voice Search Influence Magento Shopping?

Believe it or not, voice search is changing the way people shop – nearly 5.5 million US adults make purchases with their smart speakers on a regular basis. And this number will only increase in the coming years.

Voice search helps shoppers in completing their buying journey without any hassle – from searching their preferred product to comparing prices to placing an order without having to navigate the website. This is not only convenient for shoppers but helps them save time, which everyone is short of!

Let’s put it this way: the average typing speed is 25 wpm, but voice search can process about 100 wpm; so why wouldn’t anyone use that?

Thus, it is crucial for you to optimize your Magento store for voice search in order to stand out from the competition without losing any potential or existing customers.

How to optimize your Magento store for voice search?

After we have acquainted you with the benefits of voice search, the next and the most crucial step is Magento optimization for voice search.

Here we have listed five different ways in which you can optimize your Magento store voice search and experience the change. Let’s get started.

Mobile Optimization

Indubitably, the world has shifted to mobile a long time back, and eCommerce is no different. According to Google, 27% of people worldwide are using voice search on their smartphones. In fact, Google now uses mobile-first indexing which means optimizing for mobile is critical to success in the long run. Thus, if you haven’t yet developed a mobile version of your store, do it right away for maximum gains.

Pro-tip: You can also use the latest PWA technology or AMP extension to get lightweight mobile pages for your Magento website.

Improve Page Loading Speed

Once you have optimized for mobile, the next important step is to optimize the page loading speed. It is a well-known fact that the majority of the users leave a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, so make sure yours isn’t one of them. Also, when it comes to voice search, the expectations are much more. In addition to this, page loading speed is again a Google ranking factor so you need to dedicatedly work on it to rank higher.

You can check your current loading speed on Google PageSpeed Insight by simply entering your URL and improvise accordingly. Usually, resizing images, optimizing caching, avoiding redirects or inline CSS/JS files can help you attain the desired speed.

Aim for Google Zero Blocks or Zero Position

Zero position in the SERPs means Google rates your answer as one of the best and it will be read out to your voice searchers. In other terms, these are featured snippets that are created by Google to help searchers get (and read) the answer to their search queries without having to click the website link.

You can get to the featured snippet block or zero blocks by:

• Writing short and relevant answers using list or bullets,
• Including the main target keywords in your answer,
• Targeting info keywords that already have featured snippet blocks.

Use Long-Tail Keywords

With Google introducing its Hummingbird algorithm, the context and long-tail keywords have become more valuable to attain higher rankings in SERPs. As per the algorithm, online interactions should feel more human with the use of natural language and tone. Thus, the strict keywords usage rules are outdated or no longer work. To rank higher, you must think about the visitors’ needs and how your content can solve them.

When it comes to voice search queries, include basic question words such as why, how, where, or what since users tend to use such words when giving voice commands, unlike text queries. Thus, you must forget the standard keyword rules and identify relevant long-tail keywords that your searchers are using.

Structure Your Store According Customer Journey Map

After you have figured out the right keywords, focus on the behavior of voice searchers to create the right sales funnels. In layman’s language, plan all the steps, from landing page to checkout, keeping with voice searchers’ behavior, and structure your store accordingly.

You can start by identifying the difference between text-based searches and voice-based searches. Next, move on to analyzing how customers are reaching your product page and the actions they are indulging in before buying your product(s). Also, identify the reasons behind cart abandonment and come up with exceptional solutions to increase conversions.

Conclusion

With the technological advancement in the eCommerce industry, voice search is nothing to be boastful of but something necessary. Statistics show how it is going to expand in the coming years, and this is the reason why tech-giants and industry players are constantly investing in optimizing their stores for voice search.

So it’s time for you to take a step forward and optimize your Magento store for voice search. Our Magento store optimization experts are ready and waiting to place your business on a higher pedestal.