The first speech recognition technology, IBM Shoebox, was first launched in 1961. Fast forward to today, and voice search has evolved from performing mathematical functions and speech to asking Google, Alexa, or Siri to look for the best restaurants in your neighborhood.
But this is just the start of something bigger and more impactful across industries. Voice assistants will continue to revolutionize how consumers look for answers to their queries, how people go on about their daily lives, how businesses reach out to their customers, and more.
If you’re a marketer looking into voice search SEO, you need to get up-to-date with the latest statistics and facts about the industry. Use this information to ride along with the revolutionary tech and gain a competitive edge.
General Voice Search SEO Statistics and Facts
1. Voice search is 3.7x faster than typing, with individuals able to speak 110-150 words per minute. In comparison, the average typing rate is 38-40 words per minute. (Bruce Clay, 2016)
2. Google started feeding its AI engine with 2,865 romance novels as a way of enhancing its intelligence and conversational skills. (Buzzfeed News, 2016)
3. There was an estimated one billion voice searches per month by January 2018. (WordStream, 2018)
4. By 2019, the voice recognition market will rise to become a $601 million industry. (WordStream, 2018)
5. From 2008 to 2017, voice search queries rose to 3,400%. (Hubspot, 2018)
6. ComScore predicts that by 2020, 50% of all searches will comprise of voice searches. (Campaign, 2016)
7. As per seoClarity, about 20% of all voice searches are prompted by a combination of only 25 keywords. (DialogTech, 2019)
8. The top trigger words in voice search queries are “how,” “what,” and “best.” (DialogTech, 2019)
9. It’s predicted that by 2020, 30% of web browsing sessions will be conducted without a screen. (Gartner, 2017)
10. On average, it took 4.6 seconds to load a voice query result page completely. (Backlinko, 2018)
11. Statistics found that the average word count of voice search result page is 2,312 words. (Backlinko, 2018)
12. The word error rate for speech recognition is at 8%. (Bruce Clay, 2016)
13. A study shows that the average Domain Rating of a voice search result was 76.8. (Backlinko, 2018)
14. Pages that rank in the top three desktop results have higher chances to lead voice search queries. Case in point, 74.9% of Google Home results are traced from pages that also dominates the top three results for those particular keywords in the desktop SERPs. (Backlinko, 2018)
15. Creating individual pages for every voice search inquiry isn’t an effective SEO strategy since very few voice search outcomes had the exact answer in their title tag. (Backlinko, 2018)
16. Direct and easy-to-read content may benefit voice search SEO. The average Google audio query result passes a ninth-grade reading level. (Backlinko, 2018)
18. 70.4% of Google Home result pages are HTTPS protected. (Backlinko, 2018)
19. The average voice query answer stretches up to 29 words. (Backlinko, 2018)
Voice Search Device Statistics and Facts
19. There are currently over 20 different smart voice assistants (i.e., Siri, Bixby, Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, and others) in the market. (Cognilytica, 2018)
20. By the start of 2018, more than 20% of American households equipped with Wi-Fi had a smart speaker. (ComScore, 2018)
21. Smart speaker shipment worldwide grew close to 200% year-over-year in Q3 2018—reaching 22.7 million units in the quarter. (Strategy Analytics, 2018)
22. Apple’s Siri leads the voice assistant usage on smartphones while Amazon’s Alexa tops on smart speakers and Google Assistant is coming up second in both categories. (Voicebot.ai, 2018)
23. A survey shows that 65% of individuals who used smart speakers can’t imagine life without their devices. (Digital Information World, 2018)
24. Another survey shows that 42% of smart speaker users say that voice-enabled devices have become “essential” to their daily lives. (NPR, 2017)
25. The total number of smart devices in households grow 78% annually. (National Public Media, 2018)
26. A report from Strategy Analytics says Google Home and Amazon Echo constitute 94% of all smart speakers presently in use. (TechRepublic, 2018)
27. As per a Hitwise report, 12% of all Google queries are mobile voice searches. (Econsultancy, 2018)
28. About 88% of all “near me” search queries are performed on mobile devices. (MotoCMS, n.d.)
29. 20% of individuals perform voice queries on mobile devices. The more mobile-intuitive a business is, the higher the chances they get to appear on voice search results. (Alphametic, 2018)
Voice Search via Google Assistant Statistics and Facts
30. Based on a digital assistant IQ test comprising of 800 questions, Google Assistant showed the most accurate answers with a score of 86%. (Loup Ventures, 2018)
31. Google projected that Assistant will be available on one billion gadgets, an increase from 500 million last May 2018. (Google, 2019)
32. Active users of Google Assistant grew 4x over the past year. (Google, 2019)
33. Google Assistant currently speaks nearly 30 languages in 80 countries. Also, the voice assistant is now multilingual. (Google, 2019)
34. Google Assistant now works with more than 10,000 smart home devices from 1,600 well-known brands. (Google, 2019)
35. The Assistant now comes with eight new voices, including British and Australian accents, in the U.S. this year. (Google, 2019)
36. In the Google App, 20% of searches are by voice. (Google, 2016)
37. Google Assistant will be intelligent enough to distinguish what language the user speaks, just like Google translate. This should be enough to service 95% of Android users. (The Verge, 2018)
Voice Search via Apple’s Siri Statistics and Facts
38. Based on the same test mentioned above, Siri answered 79% of the queries correctly. (Loup Ventures, 2018)
39. Survey shows that 44% of virtual voice assistant users on smartphones are utilizing Siri. (Voicebot.ai, 2018)
40. Apple’s Siri takes over the U.S. market for virtual voice assistants on smartphones with 45.65%. (Statista, 2018)
41. In June 2017, Siri had 375 million monthly active users. (Voicebot.ai, 2018)
42. 19% of individuals interact with Siri daily. (Hubspot, 2018)
Voice Search via Amazon’s Alexa Statistics and Facts
43. Based on the same test mentioned above, Alexa delivered 61% accurate answers. (Loup Ventures, 2018)
44. Amazon’s SVP of Devices and Services stated that over 100 million devices installed with Alexa have been sold. (The Verge, 2019)
45. Amazon executive Daniel Rausch shared at Berlin’s IFA tech show that Alexa has told more than 100 million jokes and has sung Happy Birthday millions of times to customers. (CNET, 2018)
46. Alexa is now connected with more than 20,000 devices. (CNET, 2018)
47. Alexa’s catalogue of skills—what Amazon calls its voice apps—has now grown from 130 upon its launch to a massive number of 80,000 as of December 2018. (Statista, 2019)
48. There are hundreds of thousands of developers in more than 180 countries working on Alexa. (CNET, 2018)
49. According to a report, 20% of consumers that own a device equipped with Alexa have used it to find deals or track what they’ve bought online. (The Next Web, 2018)
50. Amazon has sold around 50 million Alexa devices. (The Information, 2018)
51. 85% of consumers using voice search end up choosing the items Amazon suggests. (Quora Creative, 2018)
Voice Search via Microsoft’s Cortana Statistics and Facts
52. Based on the same test mentioned above, Cortana showed 52.4% accuracy of answers. (Loup Ventures, 2018)
53. In 2017, a report gathered that Cortana saw a 350% increase in monthly active users. (Windows Latest, 2017)
54. 25% of searches on Windows 10 taskbar are via voice—on a desktop. (Edit UK, 2018)
Voice Search via Samsung’s Bixby Statistics and Facts
55. 4% of smartphone users use Bixby. (Voicebot.ai, 2018)
56. Bixby is currently available in U.S. English and Korean. (Samsung, 2017)
57. Bixby’s voice search capabilities now reach over 200 countries worldwide. (Samsung, 2017)
58. The voice assistant garners 10 million active users globally. (Samsung Mobile Press, 2017)
59. Users can ask Bixby to “take a selfie” and allow Bixby to edit and enhance the image, and even share it on social media. (Samsung, 2017)
Voice Search Usage Statistics and Facts
60. 56% of new smart speaker users have also started using voice command searches on their mobile devices more often. (Convince and Convert, 2018)
61. One in five adults uses mobile voice commands at least once a month. (MotoCMS, n.d.)
62. A survey of 1,200 adults in the U.S. found that 26.1% of people who owned a smart assistant-enabled device used it to make a recent purchase. The same survey revealed that 16% of those consumers used it for shopping every month. (The Next Web, 2018)
63. Smart speaker owners use the device to perform an average of 7.5 out of 28 task types regularly, from playing music to getting flight information. (NPR and Edison Research, 2017)
64. Research shows that people use voice assistants in the car (51%), at home (39%), in public (6%), and at work (1%). (Cognilytica, 2018)
65. Individuals under the age of 24 are 33% more likely to utilize voice search queries in public compared to older people. (Go-Gulf, 2018)
66. Roughly 50% of smart device users rely on voice assistance when looking for products. (Go-Gulf, 2018)
67. 23.3% of smartphone users are very satisfied with voice search. (Go-Gulf, 2018)
68. A study found that willingness to engage by voice with smart gadgets even in public places continued to rise for the past three years,. (Stone Temple, 2019)
69. In 2017, 35.6 million Americans used a device equipped with voice assistance at least once a month. (Digital Information World, 2018)
Voice Search Demographic Statistics and Facts
70. A Global Web Index 2018 Insight Report shows 27% of the global online population is using voice search assistants on a smartphone. (The Webmaster, 2019)
71. Research shows that 42% of U.S. adults use voice assistants through their mobile devices. (Pew Research Center, 2017)
72. Survey shows that around 53 million U.S. adults over the age of 18 currently own at least one smart speaker. (National Public Media, 2018)
73. 25% of people aged 16 to 24 utilize voice search technology on their mobile phones. (MotoCMS, n.d.)
74. A survey found that 57% of people who use smart audio with children in the household said one of the reasons they wanted a smart speaker was to entertain their kids. (NPR and Edison Research, 2018)
75. 80% of smart audio owners agree that Alexa or Google Home “has made it easier to entertain the children in the household.” (NPR and Edison Research, 2018)
76. Baby Boomers (22%) are less likely to use voice assistants when driving compared to Millennials (37%) and Gen Xers (41%). (Higher Visibility, 2019)
77. 19% of Baby Boomers use voice assistants while watching TV, more frequently than Millennials (7%) or Gen Xers (5%). (Higher Visibility, 2019)
78. People between 25 to 34 years are more likely to feel comfortable interacting with voice-enabled devices. (Stone Temple, 2019)
79. Baby Boomers and Millennials are equally likely to ask their voice assistant to find recipes, more likely so than Gen Xers. (Higher Visibility, 2019)
80. Voice-enabled speaker owners wish to receive deals, sales, and promos (52%) as well as event and activity information (42%) from brands. (Think with Google, 2018)
Voice Search by Gender Statistics and Facts
81. In 2018, voice search statistics found that 66% of male smartphone owners use voice-enabled technology at least once. Additionally, there are 53% of male desktop and laptop users, 49% tablet users, and 46% off smart audio users that utilize virtual assistants. (MotoCMS, n.d.)
82. On the other hand, there are 55% of female smartphone owners, 30% of desktop and laptop owners, 31% of tablet users, and 26% of smart speaker owners that have used voice assistants. (MotoCMS, n.d.)
83. Research reveals that 42.5% of women are prone to using voice assistants more likely than men (37%) when it comes to asking for directions. (Higher Visibility, 2019)
Voice Search Behavior Statistics and Fact
84. 55% of people who use voice assistants say the major reasons why they utilize the feature is because it allows them to interact with their gadgets hands-free. (Pew Research Center, 2017)
85. Meanwhile, 23% cite “fun” as another major reason why they use it, claiming that it feels more natural than typing (22%). (Pew Research Center, 2017)
86. 25% of voice-activated speaker owners keep their devices in their bedrooms. (Quora Creative, 2018)
87. 41% of individuals who have voice-activated speakers say using the technology feels like talking to another person or a friend. (Think With Google, 2018)
88. Individuals who engage with smart speakers interact with it as if they’re human, expressing courtesy words such as “please,” “thank you,” and even “sorry.” (Quora Creative, 2018)
89. Survey shows that consumer spending via digital voice assistants is predicted to rise by 18% by 2020. (Quora Creative, 2018)
90. Two-thirds of individuals who utilize digital voice assistants end up using their mobile devices less often. (Hubspot, 2018)
Voice Search Commands Statistics and Facts
91. A survey shows that most people use their smart audio to play music (68%) or check the weather (58%). (NPR and Edison Research, 2017)
92. 17% of respondents in a survey say they regularly use voice search to help them set, cancel, and manage their alarms. Meanwhile, 10% of participants use it to add or manage appointments and events in their calendars. (Higher Visibility, 2019)
93. Roughly 10% of voice search questions start with who, what, when, where, why, and how. (Bruce Clay, 2016)
94. In a study that asked respondents which situations they’re more likely to use voice assistants on their smartphone, the top answers were when their hands are full (50%) and while driving (42%). (Stone Temple, 2019)
Local Voice Search Statistics and Facts
95. 76% of smart speaker users conduct local voice queries at least weekly. (BrightLocal, 2018)
96. A 2018 study found that 58% of consumers have used voice search to look for local business information in the past 12 months, while 46% of voice search users find local businesses regularly. (BrightLocal, 2018)
97. People who utilize voice search most likely use the feature to look for restaurants, grocery stores, and food delivery services. (BrightLocal, 2018)
98. 72% of buyers who find local businesses through voice search ends up visiting the stores within a 5-mile radius. (WordStream, 2018)
99. 27% of consumers visit the website of a local business after performing a voice query. (BrightLocal, 2018)
100. 54% of voice search users also want to be able to place a restaurant or bar reservation using the technology. (BrightLocal, 2018)
101. 46% of consumers would prefer to hear local business’ rates in voice query results. (BrightLocal, 2018)
Prepare for the Upswing of Voice Search
Smart voice assistants are already becoming a part of our daily lives. For businesses, this opens a vast majority to be more in touch with their target audience in a way that matches their search behavior.
Getting into the voice search train as early as possible can help your business elevate your online marketing tactics. Voice-enabled search is here to stay and evolve. Either you adapt to thrive or ignore to flop.