Since 2016, and especially since 2018, Google has been encouraging publishers to use Structured dataGoogle uses structured data that can be spoken, and introduces guided recipes into the search console. Google built and entered the voice search highway, but it didn’t seem to be leading anywhere. In recent recorded podcast searches, we now know why: Voice search is not the future.
Voice search
Google launched Google Assistant in 2016, realizing a new voice-based search experience and promising to provide a new content distribution channel.
In 2018, Google adopted Speakable schema structured data in the Beta program That was originally for news publishers.
The announcement depicts users asking for news, Google tells them the news, and provides them with a link to the user’s mobile device.
“When people ask Google Assistant—”Hey Google, what’s the latest news from NASA? “At that time, Google Assistant will respond with an excerpt of a news article and the name of the news organization. Then Google Assistant will ask the user if they want to listen to another news article and send the relevant link to the user’s mobile device.”
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Google by 2021 Publish Additional developer page about the Speakable beta program.
Publishers are encouraged to add Speakable structured data markup to their pages to help search engines and other devices identify parts of content that can be read aloud.
Similarly, Speakable structured data is Sell to publishers As a new channel to reach a wider audience.
“The speakable schema.org attribute identifies the part of an article or web page that is most suitable for audio playback using text-to-speech (TTS). Adding tags allows search engines and other applications to use TTS to identify content to be spoken on Google Assistant-enabled devices.
Web pages with structured data that can be read aloud can use Google Assistant to distribute content through new channels and reach a wider user base. “
It is the last part about covering a broad user base that makes many people in the search community excited about the future of voice search.
The common understanding is that the industry is on the cusp of a new way of reaching visitors to new websites, but it never materialized.
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Google says voice search is not the future
In a recent Search Off the Record podcast, Google employees John Mueller and Martin Splitt discussed the future of search, and finally the discussion turned to voice search.
John Mueller asked whether the search industry must be optimized for voice search in the future.
Martin Splitt did not waste any time turning off the lights of voice search is the party of the future.
There is nothing definite in his answer.
John Mueller asked:
“What about voice search? Does SEO have to be optimized for voice search?”
Martin Splitter replied:
“Oh my God, there will never be a future. I don’t think so, because if we learn anything…”
Martin next compared voice search with the future of keyboardless computing popularized by the TV show “Star Trek”, in which the character directly talks to the computer to interact with it.
Ironically, the “talk to your computer” paradigm of “Star Trek” is exactly what Google Assistant imitated.
year 2013 Slate published an article A Google employee said that the future of search is voice.
The slate interviewer asked:
“Is there a road map for the search in a few years?”
Google employees responded:
“Our vision is a Star Trek computer,” she retorted with a smile. “You can talk to it-it understands you, it can talk to you.”
Martin Splitter continued:
“I remember many years ago, people would say, “Oh, we will stop using the keyboard and just do voice. “
I think this is a recurring theme in the 90s. “
Martin’s explanation of why voice search will not be the future may reflect our mature understanding of this technology, as we have been in for several years.
He mentioned that the “input method” of voice search has changed, which means that the search experience has changed, but the search backend that processes voice commands has not changed, which may mean that voice-specific SEO does not necessarily exist.
real estate: Google talks about the future of SEO
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Martin explained:
“But I think in the future, it will not change. It will naturally or magically become the first thing we need to worry about.
Just because it changes the input mode, it may change the way the query is worded, but it does not change the basic use of natural language to retrieve information from the Internet.
So I don’t think you need to worry too much, to be honest, but it may just be me.
Maybe the future will be completely different, we will… I don’t know. I do not think so. “
Martin Splitt issued his informed opinion
Martin hedged at the end of his answer, pointing out that he doesn’t necessarily know what the future of voice search is, which means this is his opinion.
But if you want to listen to anyone, the opinions of Googlers like Martin Splitt are important and should be taken seriously.
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Isn’t voice search the future?
Martin Splitt seems to imply that, in his view, a future without a keyboard, the 2013 goal, may not happen, because, in other words, the backend of search has evolved a lot since 2013 , It’s the same no matter what”input method. “
Citation
Listen to the search history podcast at 41:21 minutes:
