The document discusses the evolving landscape of voice search and digital assistants, emphasizing the importance of intent marketing and optimizing content for voice queries. It highlights strategies for businesses to become 'answer-ready,' including the use of structured data, swift website performance, and engaging content. Additionally, it underscores the significance of customer interaction and maintaining a strong online presence to improve visibility and authority in search results.

1. Guide to Voice Search &
Digital Assistants in 2019
Duane Forrester
VP, Industry Insights
Yext

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6. 6
Duane Forrester
VP, Industry Insights
Yext

7. Guide to Voice Search and
Digital Assistance in 2019
Duane Forrester
VP, Industry Insights, Yext
@duaneforrester

8. S E A R C H M E S S A G I N G A P P S V O I C E A S S I S T A N T S Y O U R W E B S I T E
where’s the best pizza place in New York that’s good for kids and has accessible bathrooms_
C O N S U M E R S H A V E M O V E D F R O M B R O W S I N G T O A S K I N G E V E R Y W H E R E

9. CONVERT
T H E C U S T O M E R J O U R N E Y S T A R T S W I T H A Q U E S T I O N

10. YOUR
BRAND
COMPETITOR INFO
WRONG HOURS
WRONG MENU
TWO STARS
LIES
MISSING INFO
OUTDATED INFO
WRONG PRODUCTS
WRONG SIZE

11. DEMOGRAPHIC
MARKETING
PSYCHOGRAPHIC
MARKETING
BEHAVIORAL
MARKETING
AGE & GENDER
RACE
LOCATION
INCOME
PURCHASE HISTORY
PERSONALITY
INTERESTS
HOBBIES
REAL-TIME BEHAVIOR
KEYWORD USAGE
MEASURABLE ACTIONS
NEEDS
Y O U R M A R K E T I N G S T R A T E G I E S H A V E E V O L V E D

12. gas station Where’s the nearest gas station?
cardiologist Who’s the best cardiologist for children?
insurance Who sells the best car insurance?
cheeseburger Where’s the best cheeseburger in Detroit?
A N E W A G E : I N T E N T M A R K E T I N G

13. What is intent?
Where can I get gluten-free ramen right now?_
Who’s the best cardiologist for children?_
financial advisors that speak Russian_
buy Tesla Model 3 in Dallas_
When was Facebook founded?_
getting married_
How many calories are in a Big Mac?_
Does Paragon Sports carry Nike sneakers?_
● I want to know
● I want to go
● I want to do
● I want to buy

14. HARD TO RANK
HARD TO CONVERT
EASY TO RANK
EASY TO CONVERT
SHORT KEYWORD PHRASES
“law firm”
MID-LENGTH KEYWORD PHRASES
“utah law firm”
NATURAL LANGUAGE PHRASES
“How do I hire a law firm in
Utah?”
LOW VOLUME
LOW COMPETITION
HIGH VOLUME
HIGH COMPETITION
NATURAL
LANGUAGE PHRASES
convert at
2.5x
the rate of
SINGLE KEYWORDS
Q U E S T I O N S C O N V E R T B E T T E R T H A N K E Y W O R D S
“The Long Tail And Why Your SEO Keyword Strategy Is Wrong,” Josh Steimle, Forbes.
“The Long Tail of Search: Why the Fastest Path to More Traffic Might Not Be Where You are Looking,” Conductor.

15. “What are the best
outdoor Bluetooth
speakers?”
“What kind of bass
and treble is best for
outdoor speakers?”
“Where’s the nearest Best
Buy that’s open now?”
“Who carries Bose
Bluetooth speakers?”
REVIEWS
SEARCH ENGINES
VIDEOS
BLOGS
SEARCH ENGINES
EXPERT WEBSITES
PRODUCT PAGES
FAQ
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
BRAND WEBSITE
DISTRIBUTOR WEBSITE
D E L I V E R V E R I F I E D A N S W E R S E V E R Y W H E R E C O N S U M E R S S E A R C H

16. You need to think “Answers Ready”

17. BUILD YOUR
KNOWLEDGE GRAPH
Collect, structure, and manage the
facts about your brand to answer
nuanced questions.
ANSWER QUESTIONS
YOURSELF
Add key elements to your website to
capture consumer intent and answer
specific questions.
ANSWER QUESTIONS
EVERYWHERE
Ensure AI-based services like voice
assistants and search engines deliver
brand verified answers to your
customers’ questions.
T H R E E S T E P S T O B E C O M I N G A N S W E R S - R E A D Y

18. C A N Y O U R D A T A A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S L I K E T H I S ?
Best Financial Advisor near me open now
who covers Family Trusts?
rating: four stars and higher
primary category
geography-based data
hours of operation
additional attribute: financial product

19. HOURS OF
OPERATION
RETAIL
STORES
SERVICES
PRODUCTS
RATING
RESTAURANTS
CITY
BRAND
TIME
NOW
MENUS
HOLIDAY
HOURS
OFFERS
CATEGORY
EVENTS
S E A R C H E N G I N E S U S E A K N O W L E D G E G R A P H
T O A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S — A N D S O W I L L Y O U

20. High-intent traffic could bounce back to
search engines where they could find
wrong information or, worse, a
competitor.
T H I S I S W H A T H A P P E N S W H E N Y O U R S I T E I S N ’ T B U I L T T O A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S

21. Answers not Links
AnswersLinks

22. Customer can Chat with Businesses on the
Biggest Platforms in the World
“25% of customer service and support
operations will integrate with chatbot
technology by 2020.”
— Gartner
“Organizations who have integrated with
chatbots today reported an average of 70%
fewer call and/or email inquiries.”
— Forrester

23. best pizza restaurant near me_
“Here are three top-rated pizza
restaurants near you:
Two Brothers Pizza, 755 6th Avenue
Little Italy Pizza, 2 East 33rd Street
Little Italy Pizza, 122 University Place”
V O I C E R E S U L TW E B R E S U L T C H A T R E S U L T
D I S T A N C E
R E L E V A N C E
P R O M I N E N C E
YOU S H O U L D O P T I M I Z E F O R A L L O F T H E S E E X P E R I E N C E S

24. Reviews/Reputation
● 4 Star filter
○ Google filters local results when “best” is used –
only 4 star and higher results are returned
○ Or as close to that state as Google can manage
● Reviews/Ratings matter everywhere –
sentiment is tracked, even in simple
mentions, to inform the view the engine
has for a domain/content.
● Resource:
https://learn.g2.com/customer-reviews-sta
tistics (warning: data from competitors
included – recommend not quoting those)

25. What matters to Google/Bing
● Expertise
○ Do you demonstrate an expertise for a topic? Producing
videos, writing content, providing guidance, advice and
direction that is referenced by others is key here. Basically,
do others say you’re an expert on the topic?
● Authority
○ Are you seen as an authority on the topic? Do other sources
link to you as a key source? Do you appear in interviews, in
third party videos, and so on. In short, do people seek you
out to answer questions on a topic?
● Trust
○ Reviews – stars, count, sentiment as extracted from written
comments, links, history, responsiveness, etc.
○ https://www.searchenginejournal.com/improve-google-eat-s
core/270711/

26. What It Takes To Rank on a Map
● How Google determines local ranking
○ Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors are combined to help find
the best match for your search. For example, Google algorithms might decide that a business that's farther away
from your location is more likely to have what you're looking for than a business that's closer, and therefore rank it
higher in local results.
● Relevance
○ Relevance refers to how well a local listing matches what someone is searching for.
Adding complete and detailed business information can help Google better understand your business and match
your listing to relevant searches.
● Distance
○ Just like it sounds–how far is each potential search result from the location term used
in a search? If a user doesn't specify a location in their search, Google will calculate distance based on what’s
known about their location.
● Prominence
○ Prominence refers to how well-known a business is. Some places are more prominent
in the offline world, and search results try to reflect this in local ranking. For example,
famous museums, landmark hotels, or well-known store brands that are familiar to many people are also likely to be
prominent in local search results.
○ Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business from
across the web (like links, articles, and directories). Google review count and score are factored
into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business's local ranking. Your
position in web results is also a factor, so SEO best practices also apply to local search optimization.
https://support.google.com/business/answer
/7091?hl=en

27. THE COMPONENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
Voice Optimization Strategy

28. A successful voice optimization strategy includes:
• Understanding your customer deeply
• Preparing content
• Preparing technically
• Developing Actions & Skills
• Developing a persona for your business

29. What does it mean to optimize your brand
for voice search?
Can help rank higher in SERP
Improve brand engagement & recognition
Improve customer experience

30. Preparing Content
“Hey Alexa,
let’s chat…”
• Adopt a long tail/conversational phrase approach when producing content
• Keep the actual answers short
• Content should read like a conversation

31. • Build out answers to common and uncommon questions
• Think of the customer as they try to solve the problem
▪How does this product or service fit into their life?
▪What benefits does the customer receive?
▪Anything else they should be aware of?
• Look for opportunities to be more useful and helpful than your
competitors
“Alexa, is that sweater true to size?”
Content should be useful and thoughtful

32. Preparing technically: Structured data
• Implementing structured data is no
longer optional
• We’re starting to see Google build
Actions for Google Assistant
• Auto-build voice action areas at
Google:
▪Podcasts
▪Recipes
▪News

33. Preparing technically: Speed matters
“A one second delay in mobile load times
can impact mobile conversions by
MORE THAN 20%”
– Think With Google

34. Preparing technically: Be secure
“If people have a negative experience with
you on mobile, they are
62% LESS LIKELY
to purchase from you in the future.”
– Think With Google
• Being secure requires technical and detailed work
• Search engines are looking at websites that are secure

35. Preparing technically: Be trustworthy and authoritative
• Keep your website up-to-date; manage your basic SEO
• Connect the dots between your site and official social media accounts
• Engage with customers in a meaningful way on social media accounts

36. Checklist: Optimize your brand for voice search
✔ Create content in a
conversational manner
✔ Implement structured data
✔ Be mobile friendly
✔ Be secure
✔ Build with page speed in mind
✔ Manage ratings and reviews
proactively
✔ Manage your overall data
footprint
✔ Build a unique persona
What The Systems Listen For:
•Information Satisfaction
•Length
•Formulation
•Elocution

37. One of the most critical areas of investment in Voice
But what IS a persona?
It’s the aspect of someone's character that's seen by others
“Alexa, Google, Microsoft and
Apple have invested a lot in
building unique personas for
their digital assistants for a
reason.”
3 types of Personas today:
Customers Brands AI
Personas

38. 1 - Understand the Brand
2 - Understand the Customer
3 – Understand the (Customer’s) Task
4 – Choose the Medium
Text to Speech
Custom Voice Over
Wally Brill, Google I/O: https://youtu.be/tUbB_FbIqPw
Steps in Designing Your Brand Persona

39. AI will get to know your digital self and
eventually, it will know:
• What NOT to expose you to
• The WAY you want information conveyed to you
• HOW you want information explained
Humans are an emotional species.
Eventually, AI will get to the point where they will be
able to sense changes in mood
Seamless interactions
Doesn’t matter the device or manufacturer, your
assistant can work with all to execute your
command
Next Steps for Voice Assistants

40. Thank you!

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