Using voice search is getting more and more popular. With one in five mobile searches being voice search vs. typing into the search bar, the importance of being featured on the voice search devices is getting higher and higher. The question remains however, if the future will allow companies to advertise their products and services. Will users allow the companies responsible for the voice search technologies to use their data to create relevant ads?
There is something about voice searches that makes it more personal. Having conversations with Google Home or Alexa makes it feel like you are having human interactions, instead of talking to a machine. It would be damaging to combine potentially annoying ads with the trust the consumer has put in the voice search products. Also, you could imagine that people don’t want to listen through ads as they are waiting for the answer to their question. On the contrary, once they become an integral part of our lives introducing ads might be inevitable.
No one really knows what the future holds for paid search ads. You can however already prepare the advertisements you are currently using for voice search queries. Important to notice is that voice search queries are typically a little bit longer than typed search queries. People tend to ask questions in full sentences longer than 5 or 6 words. Furthermore, voice has a high local worth with “near me” searches. You can also check your current campaigns to see if they are already receiving voice search traffic. With a growing chance that any search will be a voice search, it might be worth the effort.
Is the future closer than we think? It has been reported that Amazon approached big consumer brands to allow ads on Alexa. Although it has been denied by Amazon, the rumours around it suggest that it could be a possibility in the near future.
https://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/contentmarketing-voor-voice-search
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ppc-campaigns-voice-search/246437/
Interesting contribution Scott!
I think it will be integral for consumer trust that advertisements in the “voice-sphere” will be obvious. When I think of a conversation with Alexa I’d like to be it very similar with a “real conversation” with a “real person”. And when you have a regular conversation with someone and you ask whether they know a good pizza place it is comforting to know they are usually unbiased. When you have that same conversation with Alexa however it seems a bit to easy to receive a camouflaged advertisement for the highest bidding pizza place.
I agree that they very likely inevitable; even if it’s not Amazon another player will deem this way of advertising fit.
Having a trained, paid high-tech parrot trying to influence my life with every reaction gives me the shudders to be honest. I’m curious how the future unfolds.