The Potential of Voice Search for eCommerce Businesses
Imagine running a store where your regular customers no longer need to search through aisles – they simply tell you what they need, and you guide them right to it. That’s what voice search does for online shoppers. With the rise of smart devices and virtual assistants, visitors are increasingly using voice commands to find products. Adapting to this new trend ensures that your eCommerce website remains competitive and accessible in an ever-evolving market.
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Online shopping behavior is changing, with statistics showing that 71% of consumers would prefer to conduct queries by voice rather than typing, especially on mobile devices. Consumers value convenience more and more and retailers like Walmart and Amazon quickly understood the swift, integrating voice search into their platforms and allowing customers to order products simply by speaking to virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant.
The Rise of Voice Search in eCommerce
A shorter attention span and the need for quick, effortless searches triggered the development of virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri. It was a small step until eCommerce took advantage of these technologies. Nowadays, customers no longer have the patience for complicated navigation or lengthy search processes. They expect immediate results, personalized recommendations, and a more conversational shopping experience.
Voice search is offering exactly that – a faster, more intuitive way to find products online. Studies show that more than 60% of voice search is conducted on smartphones and it’s no wonder why these smart assistants are increasingly being integrated into the shopping experience, enabling hands-free searches and purchases.
Understanding How Voice Search Differs from Text Search
There are a few notable differences between the two, and that’s the reason why businesses must tailor their content to match the natural flow of language, ensuring they can provide relevant answers.
So, first of all, voice searches are typically more conversational and lengthier than traditional text searches. When people type, they tend to use short, keyword-focused phrases like “best winter boots,” but with voice, it’s more natural to say, “What are the best winter boots for snowy conditions?” – a more conversational tone that reflects how we speak in everyday life.
In order to return relevant results, the search engine must adapt to Natural Language Processing (NLP). Only NLP allows these devices to decipher not just the words themselves, but the context, intent, and subtleties behind them.
For eCommerce businesses, this means optimizing for conversational phrases and focusing on user intent rather than just specific keywords. By aligning with how NLP functions, brands can ensure they are better positioned to appear in search results and respond to the needs of voice search users more effectively.
One retail company that successfully adopted voice search strategies is Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s recognized early on that voice searches are often more conversational, and they adapted their strategy to cater to this behavior. Through partnerships with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, they built Dom, an interactive chatbot which enabled customers to place orders using natural, everyday language.
Domino’s invested heavily in NLP technology to ensure Dom could accurately interpret customer requests. This involved not just understanding the specific words in a command, but also the context behind them. For instance, NLP allowed Domino’s systems to remember previous orders, so when a customer said “my usual,” the system could recall their last pizza configuration. This smooth, intuitive experience enhanced user satisfaction and loyalty.
Optimization Strategies for Voice Search
When it comes to voice search, long-tail keywords take center stage. Users tend to phrase their spoken queries in more specific, conversational terms. Therefore a long tail keyword like ‘best running shoes for flat feet’ will yield better results than ‘running shoes’.
Take Amazon for example… By analyzing how customers ask for products on voice platforms like Alexa, they optimized product listings to ensure that users can find exactly what they are looking for – whether it’s “affordable noise-canceling headphones” or “best vacuum for pet hair.” This strategy is powerful for eCommerce, as it caters to users with a specific need or problem, ensuring that their queries land them on relevant product pages or content, which in turn drives higher conversion rates.
If your company sells locally, then optimize for Local Searches. A large portion of queries contain phrases like “near me” or “open now.” There is also an extra step here to be taken: to successfully optimize for local voice searches, businesses need to ensure that their Google My Business listings are up-to-date, complete, and accurate.
Enhancing eCommerce Product Pages for Voice Search
If you are looking to implement voice search on your eCommerce platform, you need to know that it will work at its fullest capacity only if your product pages, especially the product descriptions, are optimized for voice search.
Unlike traditional SEO strategies that often involve keyword stuffing, voice search optimization requires descriptions that are written in natural, conversational language – just as you would explain the product to a customer in person. Descriptions should be concise but comprehensive, incorporating long-tail keywords and answering potential customer queries.
Additionally, think about intent. For example, think about questions that your customers might ask: “What size do these shoes come in?” or “Is this jacket waterproof?” Having those answers embedded in the product page increases the likelihood of showing up in voice search results.
Voice Search and the major eCommerce platforms
As we showed earlier, it wasn’t long until eCommerce platforms started exploring ways to integrate voice search into their features.
Adobe Commerce has a complex AI-driven Live Search feature that leverages advanced search algorithms, offering features like faceted search, which can be further enhanced by voice interaction. Adobe focuses on delivering a tailored shopping experience, and voice search can help streamline product discovery, making it an essential tool for enhancing customer interaction.
Both Adobe Commerce and Magento OS support voice search integrations via third-party extensions. One notable example is Voice Search Module developed by Bridge Global, designed to make searching more easy through a smart voice query.
Shopware offers a dedicated third-party plugin called Voice Search that enables customers to control search functionalities by voice.
Future of Voice Search in eCommerce: What’s Next?
Voice search is rapidly evolving and with AI-driven personalized recommendations becoming more prevalent, it will not be long until voice assistants will use data from past purchases, browsing behavior, and personal preferences to offer tailored product suggestions.
One other major trend to watch is the voice-enabled shopping carts, where users can add items to their cart, review their selections, and complete purchases through voice commands. Big retailers like Walmart and Target are already exploring this path.
Therefore, in a world increasingly driven by speed and convenience, voice search is changing eCommerce by offering a seamless, hands-free shopping experience. It’s no longer enough just being online; it’s about being accessible in the most efficient way possible.
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