What Google’s New Pixel Phone will do for Mobile SEO
Google’s new voice search platform, Google assistant, is an integral part of the new Google Pixel. Learn how voice search is leading the evolution in mobile SEO.
Google made a big splash recently with their new smartphone announcement, the Google Pixel. It’s Google’s first foray into the smartphone market since the introduction of their Nexus mobile line, and it looks like things are going well for the search giant.
Apple’s smartphone market share is stagnating, and initial reviews of the Pixel are positive.
Journalists seem especially impressed with the introduction of Google’s new voice-assisted search platform, Google assistant. Google assistant is set to take over for Google Now on Google’s newly released Android 7.0, Nougat. It grabbed our attention, mainly because Google Now was no slouch.
Voice-Assisted Search Platform
Google looks to be going all in on voice search, and rightly so. Google’s own data shows 55 percent of teens and 41 percent of adults use voice search more than once a day.
With Apple pushing their Siri assistant, and Amazon always improving their Alexa, Google is capitalizing on a thriving market.
We for one, are looking forward to the move towards voice search, but we do have our reservations. Voice search is undoubtedly going to change the face of mobile SEO. How exactly, isn’t understood yet. Though, we can speculate. Let’s break down what we know so far about Google assistant’s effect on mobile SEO.
Voice Search ≠ Text Search
Voice assistants will change the way Internet searches are conducted. The nature of a voice search is often local and phrased differently than a text search. For example, the phrase, “I’m looking for some food” will return positive results in a voice search.
In a text search, however, location data isn’t included, and the same phrase returns general results that aren’t even related to restaurants.
Tailoring your keywords to speech phrasing and pinpointed location is likely to become an important part of mobile SEO in the near future.
Google has already revealed through their Possum update, that location data is going to become more and more important in search results. We expect Google used the update in part to give SEO marketers the nod towards location-based keywords to cater towards voice search.
Keeping it Simple
SEO comes down to identifying what users are searching for. If you can appear in those results, you can sell your product or service. Voice search users are searching local.
Bing data found that close to half of voice searches have local intent. While these results don’t include Google, it’s safe to assume consumer search intent doesn’t vary much across platforms.
The answer to targeting voice assistant users is obvious, stay local.
Google maintains a database called Google My Business that allows local businesses to provide Google with basic information. Google assistant pulls information from the database, combines it with GPS information, and uses the results to answer search queries.
Adding your information to Google My Business makes sure Google assistant has the information it needs to recommend your business.
What’s good for Google is good for your SEO.
Are Paid Search Results Finally Dying?
Everyone knows about the paid results that appear at the top of every Google search. But will this concept translate to voice? We hope not.
Google assistant aims to act like a human being. It wants to answer our questions in a conversational tone, giving us an answer, rather than a list. This means one answer per search query.
If paid search results appear in Google voice searches, we wonder, what’s to stop companies from buying their way into search results? Paid voice search results are something to keep a keen eye on. They hold the power to completely shift mobile SEO away from organic traffic.
Voice search is here to stay. The next few years are going to have a significant impact on mobile SEO, as marketers gain more first-hand experience with Google assistant. Mobile SEO never sleeps, and it’s up marketers and their clients to stay one step ahead of the competition.