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5 Top Digital Transformation Trends in 2018

What’s hot in digital seems to be changing rapidly. Digital Trends has covered headlines for years now, witnessing a tremendous growth firsthand. An unending array of latest gadgets and concepts speak of the huge impact it has in hold for businesses. Last year, Amazon’s Alexa was the big thin, and that trend has not abated. Many companies are exploring new ways to incorporate digital trends into their products and services. The pace at which this takes place indicates that eventually every product, every service offered is going to be digitally clever and future-ready.

One of the top digital trends in 2018 is going to be smart home technology, which will continue to flourish this year. Intended to change the way we live, smart home concept includes the usual home appliances like refrigerators, toasters, and washers, and a whole range of home security devices to detect marauders invading your porch. Digital technology has a lot more to offer this year and here are the top digital transformation trends that are all set to rule 2018.

Blockchain Leaps Out of the Box

Blockchain is destined to transform entire world of business and the way how everything is carried out. Despite a shaky start other than in cryptocurrency, it is starting to take pace with as adoption happens elsewhere. The State of Delaware has passed a law that allows corporations use blockchain technology to maintain shareholder lists and corporate records. The UK-based digital bank Revolut is launching a virtual bank. All banking happens online, and its assets are built on blockchain. It just hit a million customers and plans to touch U.S. shores by 2018. Targeted blockchain applications are expected to continue to emerge in 2018.

Smartphone Gets Even Smarter

The so called Smartphone allows you stay connected in many other ways other than the traditional voice call. That’s all going to change with the introduction of AI and machine learning.

The usual Smartphone is about to get an intelligent upgrade in 2018. Mobile processors that are designed to handle AI technology are expected to hit the industry soon this year. Digital assistants will be there offering a more personalized service by anticipating your needs even before you could ask.

Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Bixby, these names look familiar. We talk to them as they were real people, saying “please” and “thanks” and rely on them for all kinds of things, giving us directions, controlling our gadgets, or reminding to take our prescription drugs. But we have just touched the surface of what personal digital assistants can do.

Think of the way your digital assistant helps you save time by letting you know the traffic condition, the shortest route and the time it would take to reach your destination. All your questions answered even before you ask. More such location-aware platforms are expected this year.

The Touchless Interface

The UI is our entry to the world where tech gadgets serve us inherently. But until now most of these gadgets need some kind of physical interaction to work. All this is going to change this year, with the entry of touchless interface.

Virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri have proven that there is no need to rely on our thumbs and fingers anymore. But this way of interaction is about to change this year.

Imagine picking up an empty pizza box and saying “Alexa, order this” and it being ordered right away without you as Alexa understands what you’re holding. Other such customized responses based on who is asking, are already here and will become more prevalent in 2018.

In the coming years, touchless interface is sure to take us to tomorrowland where the tap and swipe will become history.

Cloud Computing Gets Edgy

We are so familiar to Cloud Computing that we simply feel strange about this next tech trend “Edge Computing” is set to transform the way we see cloud computing in 2018.

As devices get more powerful, they will require large streams of data to operate, which will make cloud computing too slow. Even with 5G, there will still be chances of latency in the connection.

For instance, you’re in a self-driving M25 with your baby in the back seat and need a quick slow down, but your car lost connection to the cloud. The danger is obvious. You can’t afford to wait until the data travels from your car to a central server to make that decision to slow down. So, your car becomes a data center of its own, making such decisions locally, but sending data home to improve the operation of other self-driven vehicles.

Reality Gets Virtual

Adoption of VR and AR technologies has been slow due to the high cost, and the fact people who use such devices suffer from motion sickness. This is about to change in 2018. Major companies like Apple and Google are planning to get it to mainstream. AR is evolving more rapidly than VR.

Imagine shopping with an AR app that allows you to take photos of the items in the aisle and instantly reveals prices, ingredients, reviews, coupons, promotions, discounts, and even buy the product within the app.

Expect to see more such exciting innovations in the computing landscape in 2018, potential innovations that were long talked about, becoming a reality.

Voice Search is latest trend in SEO – Benefits

Ask us and we would say voice search is one of the best features that the internet has embraced. Over the years Voice Search has evolved from a mere science-fiction idea to a dynamic search option. From Siri, Ok Google to Cortana and Alexa, Voice Search has become the most prevalent personal assistant in the internet realm.

Today, voice search user base is growing in millions and Google study predicts that by 2020 more than 50% of the searches will be voice-based. It means voice is the fastest growing form of search and Google has invested heavily in its making. Incredible, isn’t it? The more technology advances, the more hands-free device operation becomes.

It’s Time to Evolve with Voice Search…

However, it is also time for website owners to wake up to the importance of this type of search when creating content for SEO, because most gadgets are voice reliant now.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are all tech giants and if they have invested heavily in Voice Search digital assistant, this clearly indicates its potential.

With time, these tech giants have reduced the error rate on voice search results by several percentages, creating a positive impact on user experience.

If you are a digital marketer or your website rules your business then you definitely need to understand the importance of adopting new SEO trends and implementing new SEO strategies, such as Voice Search to avoid falling way behind and in order to increase web traffic to your website through organic search.

You Ought to Be Knowing How Does Voice Search Works

Voice Search enabled gadgets and websites are designed with a speech recognition technology, where the voice search accepts a voice command in search query and provides a direct answer based on the query.

The results are generated by combining two or more technologies including pre-programmed voice search tools, text-to-speech and natural language processing.

The Place of Voice Search in Business

Truthfully, today everyone is on the move and searchers are hungry for faster and accurate answers. With voice search, website owners can easily provide answers customers seek, thus increasing traffic to their landing pages. Instead of web search, voice search technology can prove to be a hands-free alternative.

Voice search not only improves website ranking in SERPs but also improves user experience in your website. And, let us remind you again that two important signals that Google highly emphasizes for ranking today are Voice Search and Relevant User Experience.

With voice search, you can reduce negative signals and users can get their answers faster. In fact with developments in the technology, voice search tools are now more refined, so much so that even spelling mistakes can be corrected.

As a website owner, you should know how to capitalize on the advantages this technology presents to your business. For instance, it is possible to get answers based on the customer’s previous searches, which means more users will find this convenient and promising.

But most importantly, you should hire a SEO service provider and leverage their services, because being already in the field and understanding the trend completely, it will be easier for them to optimize your content for voice search..

A Simple Guideline to Optimise Website for Voice Search

1. Your Website should be SEO friendly – this is a base requirement
2. Rebuild your existing website content and make it simpler with relevant topics
3. Your target keywords should have a conversational tone like how generally people speak with each other
4. Long tail keywords come handy as customers ask direct questions to get relevant answers
5. Your content should answer FAQs, such as the Why, Who, What and How questions
6. Create a list of common Q&A and put it on your website. Make the tone conversational in nature
7. Your focus should be on providing a direct and concise answer for better ranking. Your focus shouldn’t be on Keywords but how the questions will be phrased around the keywords
8. Include rich snippets, breadcrumbs and site links and produce a structured data markup
9. Optimise content for personal assistants, like Siri, Alexa etc.

Before You Convert Your Website for Voice Search…

1. Make note of the common queries asked by your niche target audience
2. Identify competitors by voice searching using the same common queries
3. Make sure your Google Business page is updated with recent information – company name, phone numbers, working hours, address, description, and email
4. Make sure your website has an informal tone to it
5. Make your website mobile-friendly
6. Optimise site content for local branches as voice searches on mobile are three times likelier to be local

Predictions about How Voice Search will Change SEO

1. Semantic Searches (searches based on user-specific search pattern or previous searches) will become more and more crucial.
2. Customer-centric content, in terms of tone, functions and value proposition, will be valued.
3. Mobile-first websites will be considered dynamic. Mobile friendly sites will play a huge role in Voice Search.
4. Featured snippets will get a thumbs-up, as they answer questions based on which people make decisions.
5. Having a brand name that is easily pronounceable by Google will act as a bonus point. (Perform radio test to ensure voice assistant pronounce your business name correctly)
6. Review Sites and Business Directories will become even more important for local searches
7. On an average, a human can speak 150 words in the same time it would take him to type 40 words – Voice Search is the Next Big Thing

How Can You Get Benefited From Voice Search?

Today, 20% of the searches are voice based in Google App. The Numbers are just going to double or maybe triple. If you want to compete in here, make sure your content is relevant, clear, simple and cohesive. Please keep scientific jargons and uncommon words or languages aside. If you keep your Google Business page current, 65% of your SEO strategy will be made easy as Google home provides results that suit customer intent, and businesses can reach new heights via Google Voice Search.

How your customers can reap benefits through voice search?

1. They don’t have to invest time in typing. Imagine their palms and fingers are Henna cladded
2. They will enjoy quick and direct result, something like ‘Order American Cheese Supreme Chicken Happy Meal from Mc Donald’s” in one go
3. Users can use different language to search the Internet. Now typing out Indian languages is definitely a task that will be reduced to nil.

How to Distinguish Voice Search vs. Text Search for SEO?

Voice searches can affect SEO in a different way than text searches. Here’s how they both differ.

1. Voice Searches uses colloquial language and conversational tones
2. Their questions are usually long-tailed
3. Only reliable and trustworthy content gets a thumbs-up from voice search
4. Featured snippets get more importance in voice searches

If you plan to expand your digital marketing strategy and are willing to adopt new technology for business growth and opportunity, this is the right time for you opt for Voice Search before your competitors take a lead. Connect with CG VAK today and enjoy comprehensive SEO and web application services to meet your business goals.