eCommerce websites and mobile apps are extremely popular today. It has become a mainstream way for customers to carry out shopping and for many the only medium to conduct business.
Especially in the times of the global pandemic Coronavirus, the only viable and safe option to buy essentials and almost anything was through eCommerce websites or other online platforms. Online stores are thriving and there are a number of reasons why people are now turning to eCommerce sites.
The following are some of the reasons why people prefer shopping on eCommerce websites and apps as opposed to visiting physical stores or outlets.
- Convenience and Ease of use
- Best deals and competitive pricing for the same product
- Variety. User can choose from thousands of options
- Shop from anywhere in the world
- 24*7 availability. There is no time limit to when you can shop.
- Service at your doorstep without leaving the house.
With all these benefits, eCommerce websites become the best and most lucrative option for shoppers.
Now that it is established that eCommerce websites are a booming industry, as a business owner, one must definitely approach a web store development company for your customized eCommerce website development. It is also important to note that those in the industry are striving each day to make their user’s experience better.
This involves the introduction of newer techniques and technologies to lure customers. The latest in this list is voice assistance or voice technology.
About Voice Search in eCommerce Websites
Almost all of us are familiar with the smart speaker voice-activated device Amazon Echo which addresses voice search queries by the virtual assistant “Alexa”. Similar functionality is offered by “Siri” in iOS smartphones and Google Assistant (Google Home) that carries out a search when “Okay, Google” is followed by a question.
All of these are in the lines of what you are planning to achieve on your eCommerce websites. It has trained users to utilize the voice search technology for almost anything that comes to their mind and while it is not common, it’s not long before you hear people would ask Alexa to help them in shopping saying:
“Alexa, show me partywear black jackets to buy online”.
So, are you prepared?
How to prep your eCommerce Website for Voice Search
It is expected that in the next year nearly 50% of searches on eCommerce websites would be through voice searches.
In order to benefit from and make your mark on digital platforms when a user carries a voice search, there are certain SEO practices that one needs to start following and make changes in the existing digital marketing strategies.
Here’s how it can be done:
Keywords Targetting
The first and foremost thing that needs to be adjusted for your online store is to modify the keywords ranking strategy. You must start off by selecting semantic and conversational keywords that are similar to the natural language that we use.
Users when carrying out a voice search will be speaking in a way how we communicate naturally. You must focus on targeting long-tail keywords as they will bring you closest to what users are looking for and give more details and descriptions about the products you have to offer.
Modify content
It is important that you optimize your eCommerce content in accordance with how it will be perceived in a voice search scenario. Besides making use of the keywords in the aforementioned fashion, you also need to make extensive (but not over) use of trigger keywords.
It is a natural tendency to make statements like “Best notebooks”, “Latest fashion jeans”, “New collection of tops”, etc. Here, “Best, latest, new” are the trigger words that are powerful and will compel the voice search query to rank you higher in the searches on various browsers.
So, whether it is blog posts, FAQ pages, webpages, etc. all need to be modified accordingly to suit the changing needs. It is also important that you carry out local SEO.
Featured Snippet
Whenever a user enters their query in the Google search box, the top-most organic result appears in a box that supposedly answers the query right away in the best possible manner. In other words, it is expected to be the best result for the query.
A great way is the incorporation of schema markup. It tells the search engine what your content is all about and what the data means instead of just allowing it to read it. It helps your website rank better and it is expected to help significantly to render results of voice results as it is ultimately AI artificial intelligence-based speech recognition that is processed.
Improve the Website
Whether it is the website structure, loading speed of your website, seamless integration with social media, or the way your products are listed, every small detail will have a significant impact on your end-users. It is necessary that your website loads within a 2 seconds time-span as statistics show that you are bound to lose 7% customers/second rate post that.
The descriptions, color options, product material, prices, etc. details should also be carefully mentioned. This clarity motivates the user to instantly add the product to cart and complete shopping. The more tabs they have to press to fish out information the more they contemplate the desire to buy.
Wrapping Up
Voice command and voice searches are the technologies at our door. It has been embraced by many and it is of utmost importance that they are incorporated in your eCommerce website too. So, a few modifications and you are all set because there’s not much you need to do. Just focus on indexing higher on various web browsers and you are all set.
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