It’s becoming the norm for people to talk to their phones—at home, at work, on the bus, in the mall and elsewhere around town. These folks aren’t having a conversation with anyone; they’re using voice search to obtain information or issue a command. Some surveys show that more than half of teens and at least 40 percent of adults use voice search at least once a day.
More and more people are turning to visual search, as well. A recent development, visual search takes an image from a camera on a mobile device and translates it into a search. The search engines then return related images. For example, an image of a chair would suggest a pattern or color that will go with the chair. Another type of visual search uses a voice or keyboard search parameters that return related images.
Incorporating Voice Search Into Your PPC Campaigns
While voice search continues to develop, what can marketers do differently when constructing PPC campaigns? Consider these ideas.
- Develop campaigns around dedicated questions. For example, “Where is a coffee shop near me?”
- Build a negative keyword list (something you should have been doing all along, anyway). This will ensure that you won’t get charged for impressions that are not relevant. For example, if you sell only toys for cats, you might want to put dog toys on your list of negative keywords.
- Make sure question keywords are included in long-tail search terms. Hit the big five: Who, what, where, when and how.
- Develop content that answers the questions. People most often ask questions when performing voice search. Be relevant—use the same questions to create targeted posts.
- Know that voice search is currently mostly used for small, repeat purchases—items that buyers have bought before. They already know what they want.
- Remember the past. The majority of voice searches use personal assistants that remember what the searcher has requested before and builds on it.
- With mobile, think local. Mobile device voice search is more likely to produce local results.
- Stay abreast of developments. Many experts think that increased use of voice search will change how and when ads are delivered to users.
Because the technology is still young, the effect of voice search on PPC campaigns is not fully known. What is certain, however, is voice search are here to stay.
A Few Notes About Visual Search for PPC Campaigns
Visual search is unique, in that it can deliver both visual and verbal results. For example, what if you took a photo of some very cool shoes on someone’s feet and submitted a query along the lines of, “Where can I buy shoes like these?” You may get visual results, sure. But a digital assistant can also respond with a verbal answer, providing the name and address of a nearby store where those shoes are for sale.
Because Bing, Google and Pinterest are investing heavily in visual search, some form of targeted visual advertising cannot be far behind. As you prepare images in your marketing, it is imperative you create alt-text for each image so they can be found, regardless of how a person searches for them.
Get Help Staying on Top of Voice Search & Visual Search
Staying on top of developments in visual search and voice search takes time. Fortunately, you do not have to do this by yourself to keep your business on the cutting edge. Email our search marketing agency for help understanding and implementing PPC campaigns based on emerging types of search.
