Voice search is picking up the pace quickly. Google reported that more than 20% of the searches are already being performed via voice search. And due to the increasing number of Internet of things, experts are predicting that the number might go up to 50% in 2020.

Well, the prediction might seem a bit exaggerated, but the growing trend is indicating that it might be possible. Amazon Echo and Google Home are not only creating buzz but also getting a lot of positive reviews. The Amazon Echo was the best selling product during the 2016 holiday sales! Also, now every smartphone comes with a personal assistant, which further escalates the possibilities.

While many people may argue that the “Experts” are predicting such things from quite sometimes, without any success. But the thing is, now people are more tech savvy and they prefer convenience over anything, and that’s exactly what voice searches provide. For seniors, it’s really hard to type a long sentence into the search box. And then there are those with big fingers, they struggle a lot to type juts a single sentence.

Voice search makes it easy for everyone to ask questions, without struggling with the tiny keys. Also, the fact that human can barely type 40 words in a minute but can speak up to 150 words pushes the possibility even further. Google has reported that their Voice search is now 95 percent accurate, 20 percent more as compared to 2013.

The voice search may have been tasted the limelight long ago, but because the AI was not so good at getting the context, people got diverted from it. Now many people don’t use it because of the past experience. This thing might change because of the high level of accuracy. In near future, the AI will become more sophisticated in understanding the actual context of the queries. They will provide results based on the context rather than going with the literal meaning. And this will compel everybody out there to use voice search, because who doesn’t love convenience?

A recent research revealed that people are starting to use voice search in public, because in the past, most of the users were quite hesitant, and only felt comfortable at home or in private space. But as the technology is advancing, they are getting used to it.

As a business owner, it’s better to keep an eye on the changing trends and this is exactly what we are asking you to do. Until now, optimizing the content for the voice search was mainly for the B2C business, but since it has the potential to go mainstream, it’s better that you start optimizing your site for the voice search. It will not only put you ahead of the competition, but will also affect your overall SEO efforts because it’s not a separate imitative, but just an expansion of the existing SEO practices.

Here’s how you can be prepared for the B2B voice search.

• It’s a no brainier that voice search will be performed using mobile devices, so mobile optimization is crucial.

• As compared to the text search, voice searches will be longer. So research for the long-tail keywords and use them in your content. Also, you might want to start giving your language a natural /conversational tone so that the search engines find your website relevant for the search queries.

• Optimize for local. Voice search will mostly target nearby locations. So, its critical that your business is listed and verified in top tier local directories such as Google My Business, Bing, Facebook, Yelp, etc.

• Targeting featured snippet will help you get the position zero (equivalent to the page one ranking).