Have you asked Alexa, Google, or Siri a question lately? Chances are, you have! About half of consumers use voice technology for search queries on their smartphones or smart speakers. But do you know the answers Alexa, Google, and/or Siri are providing when it comes to drug and medical information for your clients’ brands? Furthermore, do you know the sources from which those answers are being pulled? Probably not – but you can!
About 8% of all voice queries are health-related – and while that may seem small, that translates to roughly 19 million consumers who have searched via a voice assistant. When breaking down that 8%, the top three types of health-related queries are directly pertinent to prescription brands and their relevant indications and disease states: 73% ask about illness symptoms, 46% ask about medication information, and 38% research treatment options.
The growing interest in voice search, specifically within the healthcare industry, is why Intouch developed AnswerVox®, a proprietary technology that can automatically conduct voice searches via Google, Siri, and Alexa, based on a list of queries fed to it, and collect the output of their answers. AnswerVox is the only tool we know of that can get this type of information at scale. With this, it’s possible to analyze voice answers for relevant search queries across the most prevalent voice-enabled platforms, gain visibility into what’s taking place, discover accuracy gaps, and develop plans that address these gaps!
With the AnswerVox technology, we can conduct voice answer audits in an efficient way. First, we determine the main focus areas we want these queries to be tied to (for example, the brand, its disease state, and its competitors). We then use several inputs, like keyword research, lexical analysis, and more, to generate a list of queries and questions to feed through AnswerVox. From that, AnswerVox pulls in the results from Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant.
The results can provide a wealth of information, including – but not limited to – gauging the answer quality, the understandability of the query, observations about the sources from which the answers were collected, and the contrast between the output of different devices. This information can then help us identify gap opportunities and areas for improvement along with recommendations tied to these outputs.
Who can benefit from a voice answers audit?
- Brands seeking to move their overall brand visibility and awareness from “good” to “better”
- Brands seeking to gain more competitive market share
- Brands conducting competitive surveillance and that desire a full picture of the landscape
- Brands seeking to utilize innovative voice technologies to help build brand loyalty (e.g., chatbots or Alexa Skills extensions)
Voice search continues to grow in importance, especially with the increased adoption of voice assistants and smart speakers; and it is likely that this trend will continue. It’s important to know what these voice assistants are saying as it pertains to your brands, to make sure their “voices” give patients the best possible answers and are representing your brands and indications correctly. Voice will likely become more of a priority within the healthcare arena; especially for your brands, and, therefore, it should also be a priority for us.
Be “in the know” on how your own brands, disease states, and competitors are being referenced by voice assistants, and uncover new opportunities! Reach out to your Intouch SEO team to learn more.
Terri Greene is a director of SEO at Intouch