The landscape of business is constantly evolving. In this increasingly digital era, technology is the biggest catalyst for change in nearly every major industry.  

Currently, voice search is one of the fastest-growing trends. For instance, 2018 started with only 47.3 million US adults owning smart speakers but it ended it with 66.4 million. It goes without saying that voice search is growing at an exponential rate.  

Now, the question is: why?  

Here, we’ll help you understand why modern consumers are drawn to voice search. You’ll also learn how their habits affect your local business.

Why Do People Use Voice Search?

Initially, voice search drew in an audience of curious tech enthusiasts who were most interested in asking silly questions and seeing how voice assistants would respond. However, thanks to advances in speech recognition and voice assistants, everyday consumers now use it for more important tasks such as cooking or driving.

About 52% of people use voice technology because it is convenient, while 23% use it because they enjoy its novelty.  

Since voice tech enables consumers to look up information online in a handsfree manner, they can use it anywhere and at any time. They won’t have to deal with autocorrect or typographical errors. Plus, instead of sorting through a wealth of online resources, they can receive fast and direct answers.

Understanding why modern consumers use voice search is key to being able to optimize your business for the ever-evolving customer experience. If, say, you run a restaurant and your prospects use voice search to get directions, getting listed on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Apple Siri can make it easier for them to find your business as they’re driving.  

Simply put, it’s important to make your business information more accessible to consumers who use voice tech.

Why Does Voice Search Matter in Business?

According to a report by Voicebot.ai, music-related questions dominate voice search queries. About 55% of consumers have asked such questions. Other popular searches within the 20-30% range include instructions, products, restaurants, and retail store hours.  

People who use voice technologies are most likely looking for products and services that they need immediately. If your business is optimized for voice search, you can stay ahead of the competition.  

Optimize Your Business for Voice Search Now

As voice technology continues to improve, smart speakers and other voice-enabled devices are going to become more commonplace in households across the country. You’ll need to adapt to voice search in order to maintain and strengthen your business’s online presence.

List complete and up-to-date information about your store, such as its address, phone number, or business hours, across all major voice search platforms such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

Voice Command can help optimize your business for voice search. Find out how our services can drive more customers to your storefront.