With the growing use of Chat GPT and voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, people will become more comfortable utilizing voice commands for inquiry and purchasing. It’s a trend that is expected to continue and have a significant impact on ecommerce.

In this post, you’ll discover more about voice commerce and how it varies from traditional search, as well as the benefits and best optimization and SEO methods for transforming your online business into a voice-activated shopping destination. We’ll also discuss some of the issues that this technology brings.

What is Voice Commerce?

Voice commerce, also known as voice-activated shopping or v-commerce, is the use of voice-enabled devices or virtual assistants to search for products, make purchases, and communicate with brands via speech commands.

Although voice commerce is a relatively new concept, it is gaining traction among customers, and businesses are investing in it. Over 107 million smart speakers were supplied globally in 2023, with further growth projected this year.

Voice commerce represents the future of online shopping. It is transforming the way people shop online and has established itself as a major player in the ecommerce business.

It’s all about improving the convenience and accessibility of online shopping for consumers, who can interact with virtual assistants using natural language and voice commands.  It allows people to skip the usual process of typing, scrolling, and clicking, making the online shopping experience faster, more convenient and streamlined.

With the help of speech recognition and natural language processing (NLP), customers can enjoy seamless communication with virtual assistants. It’s like having a personal shopping assistant who is always available to cater to your needs.

Voice commerce also brings improved accessibility, offering a much more convenient experience to people with visual or other impairments.

How to Optimize Your Voice Commerce Strategy

As more and more customers use smart devices and speech assistants, online businesses are adapting and taking proactive steps to improve voice commerce. The good news is that there are some things you can do to optimize for voice commerce that do not necessitate complex technology. You can do it with any reputable e-commerce website builder.

Here are six actionable ideas for ecommerce organizations aiming to create a seamless voice-enabled buying experience for their clients.

1. Incorporate natural language and conversational phrases

Understanding the difference between voice and textual search is a key factor in successfully adopting voice search in your ecommerce site. People speak differently in the way they write. Queries addressed to a voice assistant are conversational and generally longer, more like an interaction with another person.

It’s important when creating your content to find and use the right words and phrases – those that people might use when searching through voice. Longer phrases should be used naturally, and you may need to adjust your SEO strategy to incorporate long-tail keywords.

Someone wanting to find out about business insurance might just type in “types of business insurance”, but when using a voice command will more likely say  “What type of business insurance do I need?”.

Incorporating natural language and conversational phrases in website content can also make it more engaging and relatable for users.

Many voice queries start with common question words such as “who”, “what”, “where”, “how”, and you should build this into your strategy.  Use a tool like Wordtracker to find the questions that people are searching on in your niche and adapt your content accordingly. 

Make sure your navigation matches question strings people might commonly use in voice queries. When dealing with different geographical locations you should adapt your language and terminology to the local audience you’re targeting.

FAQs are one of the most effective forms of content for answering users’ queries. You should use the kind of language people would use when asking about your product or service.

Lamber Goodnow injury legal firm has a great set of FAQs using conversational language such as, “When should I speak with a personal injury attorney following an accident?”.

2. Optimize product listings

When you optimize your online store for voice commerce, you should create clear and well-detailed product descriptions that voice-controlled assistants can easily understand. Use concise and clear language while highlighting your products’ key features and benefits.

It’s important to include specific details like colors, gender, dimensions, sizes, and other characteristics that consumers might specify when using voice commands. Use bullet points or simple sentences to show what’s good about your product.

Make sure you include all relevant information about your products in their descriptions, titles, and categorization tags. Avoid making any assumptions, and provide all the necessary details clearly and concisely.

When you write about your products for voice assistants, keep it short and helpful. Tell people what they need to know and use conversational language that sounds natural, like you’re talking to a friend. Make sure your words match what people ask for when they use voice search.

Read Also: The Benefits of Voice Commerce for Customers and Businesses

Use immersive storytelling techniques to captivate and interest your customers in your offerings. When you tell a story about your products, you should paint a clear and engaging picture in customers’ minds. That will build a memorable experience that keeps them coming back for more.

3. Create a voice search-friendly user interface

Make sure your website is easy to navigate using voice search, with an intuitive and voice-friendly site structure and layout. Organize your content logically, use heading tags effectively, and ensure all interactive elements work with voice commands.

Voice-activated buttons and links can help users add items to their carts, complete transactions, or reorder previously purchased items. Ensure they are large enough to select easily, especially on mobile devices.

Voice commerce provides a new convenience for people with visual or physical impairments. Consider making your online store ADA-compliant. Integrate voice-controlled features or keyboard-only navigation to help users quickly and easily find what they want without needing to type or click menus.

This example from Lakers Store gives clear buttons for Keyword Navigation and Voice Commands.

4. Integrate voice commerce features

To improve your customers’ shopping experience, consider integrating voice-based features into your e-commerce store.

Ways to do this include voice-based payment options and voice-activated shopping carts. You can also improve customer satisfaction by offering personalized recommendations and a streamlined checkout process.

For the more technically minded, you can develop custom voice skills specific to your particular business requirement. The big players such as Amazon Alexa provide step-by-step instructions for this.

Smart devices can be beneficial in providing personalized voice assistance and human-like interactions while making the order-tracking process faster and more efficient. By integrating chatbots into your voice commerce strategy, you can offer instant customer support and excellent online customer service, making the shopping journey smoother.

5. Optimize for mobile

Voice commerce often happens on mobile devices, so ensuring your online store is optimized for mobile and loads quickly is essential.

Page speed: People expect to find information easily whether through a traditional or voice query, so good page speed is important. Search engines will prioritize sites that provide a good experience for the user, and page speed is a factor that will influence the way it ranks your site.
Responsive design: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, with a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and devices. This means you can give a good user experience across all devices.

You can use Google’s free Page Speed Insights tool or a number of other free tools for an assessment and actionable suggestions on how to improve loading speeds and fix technical issues on your site.

6. Local search

Voice search is super easy for quick, local ‘near me’ searches, especially on mobile devices. Research shows 22% of voice search queries are for local content. 

Queries are often more intent-based, with the voice used for a more immediate need such as ordering takeaway food. Simply saying “I want a large Margherita pizza with extra black olives” is much easier than clicking on a menu, selecting your choices, and checking out.

Voice assistants use local directories for local queries. Google Assistant will use Google Business profile for information, but other voice assistants use a variety of other local directories such as Yelp or Bing Places.

Make sure you have a presence on the main local listings completed in full – name, full address and location, contacts etc – and make sure these are kept up to date.  These details show your relevance to the local search query.

How to Create Engaging and Informative Voice Content That Attracts and Retains Your Audience?

Voice content production is a critical component of voice marketing because it affects how you communicate your value proposition, brand identity, and consumer advantages to your intended audience. Creating compelling and useful voice content necessitates a set of skills, methods, and technologies that can help you improve your voice delivery, content organization, and audience interaction.

Here are some tips for creating voice content that attracts and retains your audience.

1. Know your audience and their needs

Before you create any voice content, you need to have a clear understanding of who your audience is, what they are looking for, and how they prefer to consume voice content. You can use tools such as voice analytics, surveys, and feedback to gather insights on your audience’s demographics, preferences, behaviors, and pain points. This will help you tailor your voice content to their specific needs and expectations, and increase your chances of creating a lasting impression.

2. Define your voice content goals and metrics

You also need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your voice content, and how you will measure your success. You can use tools such as voice SEO, voice search, and voice assistants to identify the keywords, topics, and questions that your audience is searching for, and align your voice content with them. You can also use tools such as voice conversion, voice retention, and voice engagement to track and optimize the performance of your voice content, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

3. Choose the right voice platform and format

Depending on your voice content goals and audience needs, you need to select the most suitable voice platform and format for your voice content. You can use tools such as voice podcasts, voice blogs, voice newsletters, voice webinars, voice courses, and voice books to create different types of voice content that cater to different stages of the customer journey, and different levels of audience interest and involvement. You can also use tools such as voice transcription, voice editing, and voice enhancement to improve the quality and accessibility of your voice content, and make it more appealing and professional.

4. Craft a compelling voice content script

Once you have chosen your voice platform and format, you need to write a voice content script that captures and holds your audience’s attention, and delivers your message effectively. You can use tools such as voice storytelling, voice branding, voice persuasion, and voice emotion to create a voice content script that engages your audience on an emotional and rational level, and motivates them to take action. You can also use tools such as voice clarity, voice brevity, voice simplicity, and voice consistency to create a voice content script that is easy to understand, follow, and remember.

5. Deliver your voice content with confidence and charisma. 

Finally, you need to deliver your voice content with confidence and charisma and create a positive and memorable voice experience for your audience. You can use tools such as voice tone, voice pace, voice pitch, and voice modulation to create a voice content delivery that matches your voice content script, and conveys your personality and passion. You can also use tools such as voice interaction, voice feedback, voice personalization, and voice loyalty to create a voice content delivery that encourages your audience to participate, respond, and stay connected with you.

For example, if you are creating a voice podcast for entrepreneurs who want to learn about voice marketing, you can use the following voice content script and delivery:

Script: Hello and welcome to the Voice Marketing Podcast, the show where we help you grow your business with the power of voice. I’m your host, Copilot, and today we’re going to talk about how to create engaging and informative voice content that attracts and retains your audience. Voice content creation is a crucial aspect of voice marketing, as it determines how you communicate your value proposition, brand identity, and customer benefits to your target audience.

Creating engaging and informative voice content requires a combination of skills, strategies, and tools that can help you optimize your voice delivery, content structure, and audience interaction. In this episode, we’ll share with you some tips on how to create voice content that attracts and retains your audience, and we’ll also give you some examples of successful voice content creators who have mastered the art of voice content creation. So, let’s get started!

Delivery: You can use a friendly and enthusiastic voice tone, a moderate and varied voice pace, a medium and expressive voice pitch, and a natural and dynamic voice modulation to deliver your voice content script. You can also use questions, pauses, jokes, stories, and testimonials to interact with your audience and invite them to share their feedback, questions, and suggestions. You can also use personalization, recognition, and rewards to create a loyal and engaged voice community.