A trend that may impact plumber SEO is voice recognition. Though the technology has been around for decades, voice assistants weren’t readily available (Until 2011, at least).
They were never reliable enough to prompt regular usage. This technology’s accuracy and subsequent popularity improved around 2016, and the trend has been growing ever since.
Voice assistants are now familiar in households, and users rely on these assistants to perform search queries.
There are three major players in the voice assistant market:
- Amazon Echo (Alexa)
- Apple IOS (Siri)
- Google Assistant
When voice assistant hardware spiked in 2017, Amazon Echo was at the forefront of the revolution. Its integration with smart appliances, including refrigerators, ovens, light bulbs, and security systems, made speech commands virtually limitless.
Apple IOS was the first major brand to introduce virtual assistants to the masses way back in 2011.
Because the error rate was still relatively high at that time, it lost momentum and never ascended as expected. Today, the technology is much more accurate and was recently added to Apple HomePod to compete with the other industry giants.
Google Assistant focuses more on its namesake, Google, and is exceptionally reliable for vocal search queries.
The Influence of Voice Assistants on Plumber SEO
SEO is the process of generating organic traffic to your plumbing website through search engines. Now that search engines are integrated with virtual assistants, plumbing contractors must adapt their strategy.
There are several things to consider when formulating a plan that accounts for this new technology.
User intent is a significant function of organic search results in 2022 and should be the basis for your new plan. To adapt plumber SEO to voice assistants, focus on the following:
- Featured Snippets: Users often pose questions to voice assistants such as “who, what, where, when, etc.” and answering these questions on your website can earn you a featured snippet, something that Google Assistant and others will read back to users
- Knowledge Graphs: Marking up your website for knowledge graphs ensures that Google pulls your business information on search results for relevant keywords.
- Local Optimization: An optimized Google Business Profile, and regular social media activity, can boost your chances of being referenced by voice assistants.
- Long Tail Keywords: Users speaking tend to elaborate more than they would if typing, meaning longer tail keywords could become more valuable to search optimization
With accuracy rates higher than ever on major platforms, the trend of voice assistant technology isn’t going away any time soon. Voice search will more than likely continue to ascend and become even more influential on plumber search engine optimization.
The good news is that the SEO experts at Plumbing Webmasters can help you adapt to the latest technology. We offer Plumber SEO services to contractors across the United States. Our team continuously evaluates the latest trends to put your company in the best position to succeed.
