Google Home, Google's latest digital assistant, is part of a broader market experiment in voice-only search. While the hardware is new, Google has been building toward this future for a while, and one of the clearest examples is the introduction of featured snippets to answer questions in search. For example, if I ask Google: "What is a moonshot in business?" I get this answer...
In desktop search, Google also returns a set of traditional organic results, and, in some cases, ads, news results, Knowledge Panels, and other features. Featured snippets weren't designed for desktop, though — they were designed for devices that only have room to display a small number of results (such as mobile phones) or even a single result.
Google Home is a single-result search device, and featured snippets were designed for exactly this purpose. The good news is that, if we can optimize for featured snippets, we can optimize for voice. Below are six examples that explore how featured snippets become answers on Google Home.
"How many people have walked on the moon?"
Here's a question that should have a factual answer, but, for whatever reason, that answer is not available in Google's Knowledge Graph. So, the answer is extracted from Wikipedia and presented as a featured snippet. It's interesting to note that the answer (twelve) is pulled out of the paragraph and presented on its own...
How does this two-part answer "appear" on Google Home? Let's find out...
Google Home starts with the short answer: "Twelve". Then, it moves on to attribution: "According to Wikipedia...". Finally, the device reads the snippet, but only the first sentence in this case. As we'll see, Google may choose to cut off the featured snippet, but the logic of when and where isn't perfectly clear.
"Who has walked on the moon?"
Let's move on to the natural follow-up question — who are these people? This question returns a more typical, paragraph-based featured snippet...
Here's how it sounds on Google Home.
In this case, we get attribution first ("According to Universe Today..."), followed by the full snippet. Even though this snippet is fairly long, Google Home chooses to read the full contents.
"How do I get to the moon?"
Hey, I'd like to be one of those people — how do I get in on this whole moon thing? I'm feeling starved for glory. Here, Google returns a list-based format. I've purposely chosen a messy example (notice how Google presents an ordered list but then repeats the numbering, e.g. "1. Step 1.") to see how Google Home will handle it...
How will Home deal with an ordered list that includes a bit of mess? Let's find out...
First, notice the attribution is different: "According to some information I found on Live Science...". This may just be for variety's sake, but I'm not entirely sure. Google Home then proceeds through the steps, but some are truncated. Step 1, for example, becomes simply: "Assemble the Pieces." We're left a bit unclear what we're assembling the pieces of (the moon?). Google also reads the odd syntax ("1. Step 1.") verbatim, but this is more of a problem with the featured snippet algorithm than Google Home itself.
"List all the moons."
Let's try a longer list, and a slightly different format. This isn't a question so much as a command, but featured snippets handle it well enough...
What happens to the longer list on Google Home? Here's what we get...
Google Home skips a couple of words in the list and pauses oddly in one spot, before finally ending the list with "...and more." Clearly, there's a length limit to the spoken answer, but that limit isn't entirely consistent and seems to depend on the format of the answer.
"What kind of cheese is the moon made of?"
This one's just for fun. We all know what kind of cheese the moon is made of...
Here's the snippet on Google Home, which is structured just like our first example...
"List of ISS missions."
Occasionally, Google formats a featured snippet as a table, generally extracting it from tabular data in the source page. Here's an example...
Interestingly, this same search returns no results on Google Home. I tried a handful of tabular featured snippets, and either they returned no results or Google substituted a paragraph-based snippet. Obviously, translating a table into a voice answer is tricky business, and it appears that Google hasn't worked out how best to solve that problem.
"What is Page Authority?"
How does this help you and your brand? Obviously, we're not all in the moon business. While featured snippets are naturally focused on informational queries, questions are relevant to many aspects of our business and even our branded properties. For example, if I search Google for "What is Page Authority?", one of Moz's own proprietary metrics, I'm rewarded with a featured snippet...
Obviously, this isn't a household term or particularly high-volume search, and yet there's still opportunity to be had. Is the same question answered by Google Home? Yes, it is...
Google Home needs a little work on its pronunciation, but we do get back the full snippet and are even rewarded with "According to Moz..." and a bit of a brand boost.
"Where do we go from here?"
This is one question Google Home definitely can't answer. The direct translation of featured snippets into voice answers means that Google Home does present clear search marketing opportunities. At the moment, though, it's very difficult to measure the extent or the impact of those opportunities. How does a voice answer help us without a corresponding click? How will we measure voice answers? How will Google monetize voice? I don't think even Google knows the answers to these questions yet.
For now, it's worth exploring ranking for voice if only because winning featured snippets also positions you well in desktop and mobile search. As voice evolves, we can expect to see more interplay between devices, where a voice search saves a link in an app (Amazon Echo's app already does this with Bing searches) or opens a page directly on a linked device. Our investments now will create opportunities over the next few years as the market for voice search grows.
Remember, Moz Pro can help you find and track featured snippets, as well as flag opportunities where you might be in a position to win a snippet. If you can rank in position #0, you can rank for voice and on Google Home.
Did you order Google Home? I'm curious, as I'm seeing many SEOs tweeting about it. What's your primary use case (questions, music, research, e-commerce)? Have you considered how to work it into your broader SEO strategy, or do you see that as a longer-term journey?
Looks interesting, but currently not available in India. May think about getting one when available and price goes below $100 (currently $129)
I know this is terrible to say, but I feel like such a luddite when it comes to voice search... I just don't grasp the appeal. I feel weird and awkward asking my phone for something, and typing/viewing is just so much easier and offers so much more richness of experience. I realize that's not true for many folks, but it's definitely made it harder for me to see the "future" of voice search.
Really glad you did this, Pete :-) I'm curious the degree to which this is "good enough" and can actually replace desktop/mobile searching and browsing.
@Rand - I'm honestly not an early adopter in most cases. I'll say this, though - we've had an Echo for about a year, and it really is interesting how you start using a voice appliance when it has no screen. I just interact with it differently, and many of those interactions are genuinely useful (news briefs, music, setting timers, getting the weather, asking simple questions, etc.). They also come at times and places where I don't have easy access or don't even want to pull out a phone, like when I'm cooking breakfast.
In other words, it's interesting to see how quickly your habits change, given the opportunity. With phones, it's easy to just not use voice, because that screen is always there. With a pure voice interface, you start to build new habits.
It's also made me use voice more on my phone, and I'm finding how many things are much easier, like sending a quick text while I'm in the car. I think there are going to be places, like the car, where voice search just naturally makes sense and will get built in.
The other interesting thing, to me, is to see how my kids use voice search. It's very natural for them. You and I learned to type searches, but I'm not sure they ever will. Voice will be the dominant modality for them, I strongly suspect.
Very interesting thought process - with VR being the new upcoming paradigm, we will have to figure out a way to serve our customers better and position our companies in a different way.
I'm the same as Rand. I do occasionally do a voice search on my phone but always feel weird doing it.
I'm curious as to why someone would use Google home rather than just using their phone.
@Marie - Let me ask a question. Why do you use a laptop instead of your desktop? Why do use a tablet instead of a desktop? Why do you surf the internet on your phone instead of a desktop, laptop, or tablet, even though the screen is tiny and the connection is slower?
I think the answer becomes self-evident as we adapt to each new device, even if the need isn't obvious. Each device has its own modality and advantages/disadvantages. As you use Home or Echo, or whatever comes next, you stop consciously deciding whether to use it or reach for your phone - the use cases just naturally develop. At least, that's been my experience so far.
That's not to say that every device or modality will magically find its place. My same argument could be use to suggest that Google Glass was destined to succeed. I think pure voice search is somewhat unique, though, and has a place. It's just that the place isn't obvious at first, because we've built a keyboard-based habit into how we use technology.
Makes sense. I remember when the iPad came out and I thought that no one would ever use one. I mean, why would you need a tablet when you have a phone or computer? Our house now has 3 ipads and they get used every single day.
I was thinking too of how my children use voice search on their iPads. When my youngest was 3 I remember being amazed that she figured out how to press the microphone on Youtube and say "Peppa Pig" and she was presented with a bunch of Peppa Pig videos to choose from. I guess I could see the day where when my children don't know the answer to a question they'll just say into the air, "OK Google, why is the sky blue?"
One day I'll look at this thread and think that I was an old fogey who didn't understand the new fandangled technology that was out these days.
@Marie -- Yeah, I'm trying not to face the fact that I'm not young and cool anymore, if I ever was (cool, that is) :)
@DrPete makes a great point! Echo will serve other needs and prove helpful in new use cases.
I'm fascinated by your kid's ease of using voice!? It makes sense though, it is much more natural.
I hear @Marie & @Rand's points though. It is a bit awkward (and sometimes I want the SERP noise / what are all my options?!) :) ...I can also see myself getting an Echo and simply forgetting to use it. Ahh but I WANT ONE!!!
Can't thank you enough for writing this, the way that Google transforms answers into voice is fascinating. Keep up the great comparisons!
2 Quick ?s:
(1) Google Home hasn't so far, but Amazon Echo does. Right now, it's pretty simplistic - basically, if I ask for something ambiguous, like a song title that has multiple artists, it may ask me a yes/no clarification ("You want to play Song X by Artist Y. Is that correct?")
(2) Yes, I see ads in the future :) Look to radio - there's a long history of audio ads.
Hi @DrPete - really informative post, very pertinent given the number of people speculating about the big trends for 2017.
Following on from @Britney's question about ads and monetisation, could you ever envisage Google Home (and indeed voice searches on mobile) offering up different answers based on someone's accent?
For example - as someone with a Lancastrian accent myself, if I was to ask about the "things to do in Seattle", my accent (and my location to some extent) might infer that I'm looking for a bucket-list of things to do while i'm there on holiday/business, whereas if somebody with a Seattle accent performed the same search, they might be looking for things on in their particular neighbourhood?
If that was the case, you could imagine potentially being able to advertise based on accent/dialect, similar to how regional radio stations target their ads at locals?
Thanks,
Craig
It's a fascinating idea, and I can imagine it, but I suspect targeting will start by just being regional and/or language-based as Google Home rolls out to more countries. It's a lot easier for Google to know where you bought the unit or live than to detect subtleties in your accent. Definitely something that seems possible down the road, but I'd expect we're a few years out from that. I could be wrong, of course.
Thanks for the reply Pete - I agree with you that location/language would be much easier to segment, but it would be cool to see accent recognition at some point down the road.
Really interesting thought Craig. I wonder whether accent recogition brings a certain bias with it though. Your accent does not necessarily mean that you are "foreign" to the place or just visiting.
Could be quite dodgy grounds for Google to tread on, don't you think?
Hi Anna, yes I know what you mean. There definitely is a slight risk of bias - I suppose the most logical case of where accent could be a useful targeting option is in the case of Expats? It is similar to the way Facebook allows you to target people who are based in a certain such (i.e. UK) but have something other than English as their primary language (i.e. Spanish).
Ye s you are right, it makes complete sense to use it as a targeting option in future. But when it comes to organic results I'd questions Google making use of it widely if at all.
I'm pretty much in the same boat as Rand. I don't have the "Home", but I was given an Amazon Echo several months ago as a gift. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it, but for the most part I only use it for news, music, and sometmes taking notes (grocery list). "Alexa, What's in the news" Or "Alexa, play songs by _____".
I am excited about trying some of the home automation features. There are some neat things you can do with IFTTT, but I haven't invested in any of the products yet. Other than that, I don't know how useful it (Or the Home) are for searching.
My daughter loves asking Alexa to tell her jokes and also just randomly asking for answers to math problems or other random facts. But to really utilize search, I feel like there needs to be some sort of visual output.
If I'm in the kitchen and need a recipe, having it recited isn't going to do much good. Same goes for most other things I use search for.
Same for search, but voice actions are useful for me. "play music", "set an alarm", "directions to" are the ones i use most frequently
I'm with @Rand, @Marie etc.! However, I might add that the Google Home voice + the time it takes to deliver INFO makes the process irritating, to me.
Now Google show the results for "Search instead" when we do mistake in spelling . May be, they will available some options for clarify voice search instead.
La funcion busqueda de voz es muy util cuando nos es imposible escribir en la pantalla del movil. digamos que es una opcion complementaria al buscador de Google.
Muy buen post y gracias por compartir
Want to get one but don't feel I've a good use case at all yet. Rather get a PS4 for Christmas and wait a few more money. If I could get a voice tablet like hardware for my home, that also displayed art and the weather when I woke up each day. That'd be perfect for me.
This is ridiculous. You guys are killing it.
I wonder how IOT optimization will look like.
Can't wait for smart fridges or wardrobes so I can go "Hello fridge, what do need to buy to make your contents balanced?" and the fridge will recommend me various products, people would pay big money to be recommended there. – "Your healthy diet requires some more orange soda and campbell's soup!"
My wife does corporate strategy for an IoT company, so definitely something that gets talked about a lot at our house. It's easy to see it as a gimmick, but the real, serious uses are coming.
Admit it, you just wrote this blog post so you could show off a new toy. :)
I'm interested in how Google Voice will play out for SEO, especially how it affects advertising. With search engines seeming to embrace "pay to play" more and more, Google Voice is interesting because it's completely organic. Perhaps that will change in the future.
"Look, honey, I bought this for work!" :) Just kidding - my wife works in IoT, so she loves this stuff.
I did not know about this. Thank you very much for this useful information.
Thanks Pete, very nice insight! I have been fascinated with voice search for a while now. As you say, even if our generation is slow on the uptake of it, our children show how natural voice search will be in future. My 6 year old talks to and about Siri like it's a person.
I do think, therefore that voice search is going to be hugely important in the future, as a new way of interacting. Like mobile I feel it is likely to grow without necessarily taking away too much volume from desktop of mobile.
I do wonder, how ads will play a role in the not too distant future, and especially looking at integrating with other devices in our home and potentially "overheard conversations". These aspects could give rise to ultra personalised ad experiences. (and also pose a big question mark around privacy)
What I am keen to explore, from an SEO perspective, is how we can aid the user experience after voice search. Once the user has listened to one of our results they are likely to do something with that knowledge. An easy example is e-commerce related searches. Once they have searched for "where can I buy a Twin Peaks T-Shirt" they will want to continue their journey. So as online marketers, how can we be be one step ahead of what's currently possible, and create those voice browsing experiences?
@Anna -- I think that's a really interesting point. How can we see this as part of the user journey and create an experience that empowers site visits, even if it doesn't directly lead to them? I think what we'll see is voice become an integral part of the multi-device journey. In some cases, voice will answer the question (I don't need a SERP for "When is Veteran's Day?"), but in other cases it will start a journey that leads to a phone or tablet or laptop, and even that search may end in action on another device or on another day or week. As time goes on, we'll see more direct integration - a search on Google Home reads back an answer and then pops up a SERP on my laptop automatically or Chromecasts a video to my TV. I suspect that's the future - a true, integrated multi-device journey.
Hello Peter, Google Home is really awesome device and its process is really unique. but I think, google homes answers are for limited query. I know that we cannot compare google SERP and Google Home because both have different functionality.
I read the whole article, but still I say that rank in Google home is not an easy task.
Your ideas to rank in google home are really helpful for internet marketers.
I want to say thank a lot @Peter.
Interesting post Pete. I'm with Rand and Marie, I don't interact with voice search very much and find it a bit awkward. I had no idea G was pulling snippets as the answers to questions. This is a good opportunity for marketers but I wonder what the net effect will be. What if the information G is presenting is incorrect? How does voice search get monetized? Will voice search have an impact on ranking?
Such a Helpful information Great ! Dr. Peter J. Meyers sir
The focus on "how to rank" can turn to anathema for Google as there are those who will abuse it. I am left to wonder what Google's reaction will be when articles such as "How to rank in Nest", How to rank in auto..How to rank on TV...as search continues to evolve.
The landscape changes
i
I like the way how you have explain everything in right way ! Thank you very much for this helpful article.
Thanks Peter for the insights! Pretty interesting how this voice search is getting in our lives - despite Rand not wanting it hehe -. As you said I believe there are some situations where if we had that voice search activated or we just got used to do it, we would be using it more often, let alone our children! Now in terms of SEO I guess some SEO's will start having some paragraphs at the beginning of their pages answering those questions people might ask using voice search. We'll see how this changes - or not - the SERP and SEO.
Thanks for sharing.
David
Dr. Pete, as @Rand said, I am not also a good supporter for this kind of technology. As he said, it is a better experience to write and found more kind of results. By the way, like a non-engineer, I can only be fascinated for this kind of advances. Maybe there's people that like this feature and that's why Google is improving it.
It is only the beginning for Google Home. I know that Google's engineers will get better results with time.
Another thing that I see is that it is impossible that Google can answer everything, first, because it is not about Google or Bing, but maybe the answers have not been written yet. I think that Google Home is an excellent project. It reminds me your post called "Google's Zero Position." It's about time and maybe we could have all the answers.
By the way, Google makes it's job, but let's be honest. Humans have ultra specific questions everyday. I doubt that even a monster like Google could answer everything never. Humans are very complex.
Doctor Pete, by the way I enjoyed this post. You always make excellent content. It's funny the figurine of Roger beside your voice device :D
Interesting One! Actually Google Assistant based upon the conversational search & hopefully it will be the future.
Nice article. We were intrigued what this would mean for SEOs and wrote a similar piece last month: bit.ly/JJOptimiseForGoogleHome
It'll be interesting to see what sites will do in order to become the only result not just the top.
Thank you so much for this article! It is really new and I din'd think about how to rank on Google Home until now! Great job! ;)
This is quite a futuristic post in the sense that it tries to get into how Google Home picks content from various available options. But, from the content provider perspective monetizing would seem to be difficult since there are no clicks. The AI based on various tests is still many years away from perfection and hence it would be best advised for SEOs to not focus too much on this right now. Good to be aware though :)
Indeed. However, even lacking an obvious route to monetization, this bears watching as it represents a potential damage to existing revenue via loss of traffic as Google's using your content, free of all cost to Google, in their attempt to directly answer questions and obviate the need for the human to visit your site.
I disagree, in this sense - as I said at the end, featured snippets are a win even without voice. So, yes, you won't get a click, but if it's going to be your brand or someone else's brand in that voice answer, why not yours? You'll also get the "#0" position on organic, which many case studies show is driving clicks (and gives you two page-1 listings).
In terms of how voice answers will drive traffic and be monetized - no one knows yet. I think it makes sense to be aware right now and test the waters, because the trend will continue.
I think it's really great Peter that you wrote the post about Google Home!
Its Interesting. But I was worried that is "Dirty cow" vulnerability will also make impact on Google ranking ?
Ankur Singh
(Lucid Softech Pvt Ltd)
I don't know much about that particular vulnerability (had to look it up), but I don't see it having any impact on ranking, at least not one that's specific to voice appliances. Additional networked devices may make your own data and home network more vulnerable, of course, but they don't provide direct access to Google's servers or data. You could gain full access to thousands of Google Home devices and still not impact Google's data.
I guess someone could potentially hack voice appliances to manipulate search volume or something like that, but that's a pretty indirect impact on ranking.
Hello Peter
This is really interesting aspect. I have a query regarding this. In some of my particular posts, i use somewhat more conversational style (Like i am directly interacting with my viewer). Before developing content, i use to draft about 10 to 15 questions of my concerned audience for better engagement. Just like the questions you have used to explain this article. I actually write these type of questions in bold font in my article and then provide the best answers right after. This strategy is working best for better user engagement and remarkable increase in social sharing. I want to ask either this thing is going to work for Google Home SEO or it will remain unnoticed?
Waiting for your feedback with best regards:
Afraz
I think using a clearly question-based format for content can definitely help with featured snippets, especially if that format is a good experience for search visitors. It doesn't guarantee a question will get a featured snippet or that you'll rank (you have to be on page 1 organically, at least for now), but it's not a bad start.
Thanks Peter
Its really motivating for quite a beginner like me. :) And, fortunately i am on first page for most of my keywords, with just 7 live posts.
Great post on a very interesting and new topic. I think that we will all have to factor this when writing new content. Many people will now make an effort to try to get a featured snippet for every post they write.
There was a nice post on Featured snippets some time back on Moz by Larry Kim "Game of Featured Snippets: How to Rank in Position 0" It will serve as an useful reference for any one trying to optimize for Featured Snippets and thereby also get featured in Google Home, Google's latest digital assistant.
I think the interesting thing for voice search is that the people you competed with in the past change with voice search if you start looking at the broader market of what people ask for with voice search. Even just looking at AnswerThePublic.com and the questions related to any topic. There is a lot of opportunity around niche questions, which I feel people will answer on voice search.
This is great knowledge for any SEO people out there! Thanks for sharing.
Latinos still feel weird and embarrassed to do voice searches, and we are not always given the correct answer
This blog post is fun to read and listen. Thanks Peter! I’ve read about Google Home. It does pose some limitations for content marketers- because content quality (and meaning) drastically changes from reading to listening. Let’s see if we can turn things around.
Another one of those 'always listening' devices. Seems as if there are 3 contenders currently. Echo, Google Home and I believe one is coming from Apple.
Echo is currently being asked to reveal voice data to assist in a murder case. "Interesting times" vs 1984 George Orwell predictions.
Thanks for the article, good find. It's not available in Australia directly. I will keep my eye on it in the future.
Cheers
Do you think, Googles next update will be mobile first ?
Abhay Shah
sincerely im finding it difficult to understand this tutorila , please i need assistance, this is my skype :@kayseekells i need someone to help, Peter j please help, and here is my email too [email protected]
[Link removed by editor.]
I want to thanks you as this article is very insightful and will help me going forward
Thank you for putting this together. Google has some great people who come up with valuable ideas to make our online experience great! Google Moon should be around for a while.
Thank You.. needful for every seo
Is it possible to show up a company on google home ? Actually, I have googled about seo specialist, Google shows the person & his details on google home. How to take likewise snippets & where? And I have notice it shows any 1 or two times of the results why?
Very timely article. Search is clearly evolving. The shift to mobile and voice based search will force marketers to evolve as well. You make an interesting point about "the click". Assuming you are able to rank your snippet, how does that result translate to a click? It will be interesting to see the growth and change in search and search marketing moving forward.
How can it be useful? I mean what can be the main purpose of this gadget? When you're at home.
Thanks Peter
For its SEO, we need to rank our website on the 1st position and Google home will read your information with your brand name. Which will help to advertise your Brand.
have to do more research on it.
ok
As a search engine marketer, a small part of me hopes that this tech doesn't take off, although it's almost certain it will.
Why? Because with every step we're taking in this direction, there's less of a reason to actually visit websites.
Even if people aren't relying on large quantities of traffic for ad revenue, it's always going to be easier to convert prospects into customers by bringing them on to your website and having the opportunity to explain why they should choose your business over any other.
It could be even more problematic for e-commerce sites if these systems develop into a way to order things online, as price will become a far stronger factor at the expense of others.
These things are all well and good for consumers, but arguably concerning for business owners. Even if it does turn out fine in the end, big shifts away from the status quo are always a hassle.