Optimizing Ecommerce Websites for Voice Search: A Comprehensive Guide

This report analyzes the increasing significance of voice search in the e-commerce landscape, highlighting its impact on consumer behavior and website optimization. It emphasizes the growing demand for voice-activated shopping and predicts substantial growth in voice-enabled commerce. The report details why voice search is essential, including personalized shopping experiences, rapid processing, and the integration of AI and machine learning. It provides practical recommendations for website preparation, such as using long-tail search terms, optimizing for mobile devices, incorporating question-based queries, prioritizing site speed, and utilizing structured data. The report references several studies to support its claims, offering valuable insights for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence and adapt to evolving consumer preferences in the voice search era.

In previous years, there has been a significant increase in demand for voice-activated shopping. A
further rise in demand is also anticipated, according to experts. Voice-enabled commerce will reach over
$80 billion by 2023, as predicted by a UK-based Juniper Research analyst (Cambre and Kulkarni, 2019).
Hence, when updating an ecommerce website, voice search is used.
Voice search and it importance
Unexpectedly, voice-activated technology is more prevalent. Only 10% of American consumers,
according to a PwC study, are unfamiliar with products and devices that can be controlled using voice
commands (Sun, Shi, et al., 2019). The adoption of voice assistants is being driven by less aged
consumers, households that have children, and households that have an income of more than $100,000,
with 72% of the 90% who were using one.
Users can use voice commands to search the internet using digital devices thanks to voice search. By
removing the need to type commands, it makes searches more convenient. Users can virtually carry out
a variety of tasks on the Internet hands-free thanks to this feature.
Factors that make voice search essential for an ecommerce website
Experience with personalized shopping by using recommendations based on individual customer
preferences, voice search allows you to tailor your shopping experience.
Rapid procedure Voice search improves user experience by speeding up communication and providing
quick results. For instance, the average person types at about 30 to 35 words per minute, whereas voice
searches enable users to process information at about 100 words per minute.
Wise purchasing Voice search combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and voice (AI).
The voice assistant can recognize people's shopping habits and preferences thanks to a combination of
technologies.
Easily share reviews with the introduction of voice search, customers can now post and share reviews
more easily. The voice-enabled device can ask a customer to finish a review rather than sending them to
a survey or review form to fill out.
Preparation of website for voice search
1. Use long-tail search terms. When asking their smart speakers to perform a task, the majority of
users speak to them in a conversational manner. To get more impressions, you must optimise
your website for long-tail keyword
2. Website mobile device optimization over the past ten years, smartphones have increased in
market share for online shopping. According to Bigcommerce, nearly 35% of online sales in 2017
were made via mobile devices (Baykal, 2020). By 2021, it's anticipated to reach 54%.
3. Add additional question marks Humans frequently ask questions to obtain pertinent
information. Google reports that the number of questions beginning with "who," "when,"

"why," "what," and "how" has increased by 61% year over year (Guy, 2018). That signals a
change to searches that are more focused.
4. Keep site speed in mind you must put speed as a priority when developing an ecommerce
website that is voice search-optimized. A brief waiting time in site upload negatively impacts
sales and customer engagement. In accordance with a 2018 Google study, 53% of mobile users
abandon a website that takes longer than three seconds to load (Netravali and Mickens, 2018).
However, 47% of users stated that they anticipate a website to load in two seconds (Kelton,
Ryoo, Balasubramanian and Das, 2017).
5. Making use of structured data Search engines search for additional factors, such as structured
data, in addition to content. Use conceptual markups to include product details like name, price,
and stock availability. Your use of structured information distinguishes you from your rivals.
References
Cambre, J. and Kulkarni, C., 2019. One voice fits all? Social implications and research challenges of
designing voices for smart devices. Proceedings of the ACM on human-computer interaction, 3(CSCW),
pp.1-19.
Sun, C., Shi, Z.J., Liu, X., Ghose, A., Li, X. and Xiong, F., 2019. The effect of voice ai on consumer
purchase and search behavior. NYU Stern School of Business.
Baykal, B., 2020. Generational Differences in Omnichannel Experience: Rising New Segment: Gen Z.
In Managing Customer Experiences in an Omnichannel World: Melody of Online and Offline
Environments in the Customer Journey. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Guy, I., 2018. The characteristics of voice search: Comparing spoken with typed-in mobile web search
queries. ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS), 36(3), pp.1-28.
Netravali, R. and Mickens, J., 2018. Prophecy: Accelerating mobile page loads using final-state write logs.
In 15th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI 18) (pp. 249-
266).
Kelton, C., Ryoo, J., Balasubramanian, A. and Das, S.R., 2017. Improving user perceived page load
times using gaze. In 14th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI
17) (pp. 545-559).