By Oganes Vagramovich Barsegyan
Source: Forbes
The digital marketing landscape is constantly changing as it evolves with new technology. As such, new trends, techniques and tools are introduced now and again, allowing businesses to better cater to the needs of consumers online and offline.
I strongly believe that the following three trends are bound to gain almost explosive popularity in 2020.
1. Just Say It: The Rise Of Voice Searches And Digital Assistants
As CEO of a digital marketing agency, I have anticipated the boom of voice search as early as 2017, which turned out to be true. This year, experts predict that voice search will comprise half of all queries, regardless of the device used.
Voice searches fulfill the consumer need for urgency. Today’s shoppers have grown impatient, since they’ve become accustomed to the immediacy offered by their smartphones and the internet. This has changed their expectations of brands, and they demand swift, seamless experiences across digital platforms.
Targeting voice queries optimizes your website for featured snippets and zero-click searches as well. Most digital assistants only read back the top entry on the results page, and rich snippets usually occupy “position zero.”
Voice searches have different characteristics compared to typed queries. We use the following attributes when planning the voice search optimization strategy for our clients:
• Voice searches use natural language and questions instead of keywords. When doing a voice search, people ask as they would normally speak. The results are queries like, “What’s the temperature in Phoenix today?” This changes your keyword research. Instead of a string of words, aim for question-based searches instead.
• Create content that directly answers the query. The “People Also Ask” box on search engine results pages (SERPs) gives you a glimpse of other inquiries related to the original query. You can also answer these in your content to provide more value to the reader.
• Apart from targeting question-based searches, keep your tone conversational. Google’s latest algorithm update, BERT, lets the search engine understand the context of searches instead of nitpicking the individual words. This means Google can now process natural language better than ever. Leverage this new feature by prioritizing readability and simplicity in your copy.