What’s the Difference Between Voice Search and Regular Search?

Tommy House • September 12, 2022
mobile phone showing voice search

What’s the Difference Between Voice Search and Regular Search?

Voice search is the answer to the question of how do you make sure people find your website in a sea of other websites. It’s also a way to help searchers navigate through your website without getting lost. In this blog post, we will discuss what is voice search and how it can benefit you as an online business.


What is Voice Search?

Voice search is a way to direct searchers to your website through their voice. Instead of typing keywords into a search bar, voice search users speak their search queries and Google’s voice recognition technology transcribes their commands and sends them to your website. Voice Search is a huge opportunity for businesses seeking to promote their products and services. You don't even have to push the phrase "voice search" or the word "Google" on your website. All you need to do is create an engaging, relevant and useful content for your potential customers. A great way for you to think about the types of content you should create is to think about the questions that people might ask when they are looking for what you have to offer.


How does Voice Search Work?

Google’s voice recognition technology listens to the searcher’s voice and sends the search query along with other relevant information like the searcher’s location, device, and other personal information to your website. Once the visitor’s voice is detected, a search result page is sent to the searcher’s phone. The most common questions asked by voice search searchers include food and restaurant queries, flight and hotel bookings, product information, and more.


Advantages of Voice Search in SEO

  • Better User Experience - Voice search has been proven to provide a much better UX experience than regular text-based search. It’s clear that voice search is here to stay and will only improve as more and more people get accustomed to it.
  • No Scrolling - The UX of voice search is especially great for those who have a hard time scrolling due to health issues, aging, or other factors. It’s a huge help for people who are looking for specific information or who may have trouble navigating a website.
  • Data Harvesting - One of the best advantages of the rise of voice search is that it allows for data harvesting. Data is an incredibly important factor when it comes to SEO.


With voice, you don't have to worry about how to get it or where to find it. All you have to do is get the user to say a phrase that you can then analyze for specific keywords and data!


Disadvantages of Voice Search in SEO

  • New Headache - There’s no doubt that voice search is here to stay. However, SEO professionals will have to adapt to this new SEO factor as they’re already starting to do so. Many are already incorporating voice search into their SEO strategy.
  • New Content - The most important thing to keep in mind is that you’ll have to create content that is relevant and useful.


With the rise of voice search, there are also differences between the search results that are sent through normal text-based search. Voice search is powered by artificial intelligence, so it’s important to create content written in an understandable way.


How Does a Smart Voice Speaker Work?

A smart speaker is a voice-enabled device that connects to an Internet source to enable voice search. For example, Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot, Google Home, and Apple’s HomePod are smart speakers that come with voice search functionality. People can use their hands-free devices to listen to news, music, and weather updates. They can also ask for answers to questions or control smart home devices like lighting, thermostats, and more.


The Bottom Line

As the popularity of voice search grows, it’s important to keep in mind that voice search won’t overtake regular text-based search. In fact, while voice search is growing in popularity, it’s estimated that around 80% of all search traffic will be from regular text-based search in 2020. You should prepare for both voice and traditional text-based search engines. Implement strategies for both types of search to position your business for success.

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