Last night saw the very first Digital Surrey event of 2017 as a packed room at G-Live in Guildford were treated to two fascinating talks by renowned Futurologist Martin Stillman-Jones and Innovation Visual’s Tim Butler.
Martin presented the main talk of the evening, entitled “The Internet of Things: a pipe dream or near reality?” which examined the impact of disruption in modern business and how the likes of Tesla are stealing a march on older, established businesses. In an entertaining and thought-provoking talk, Martin examined how the Internet of Things is already beginning to impact our lives and how it is set to revolutionise things in the (very) near future.
Tim’s talk focused on the rapidly growing world of voice search and the use of digital assistants such as the Amazon Echo. As the video demonstrates, Tim presented the audience with plenty of food for thought and some incredible facts, such as that by the end of 2017 there will be 33 million voice-first devices in use, of which 25 million will be shipped this year – further proof of the gathering pace of adoption of this technology. Tim also mentioned that it has been predicted by ComScore that 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. As he pointed out, although this sounds like a date from a Sci-Fi movie, it is in fact a mere 3 years away and he therefore stressed the importance of optimising businesses for this new search methodology sooner rather than later. With Mediapost estimating that as much as 30% of searches will be conducted without a screen by 2020, as the growth in digital assistants continues apace, Tim suggested the importance of high quality SEO will be vital for all businesses as the consumer hands the decision making and choice to these digital devices.
The number of attendees keen to discuss this topic with Tim and the Innovation Visual team at the end of the evening was perhaps a good indication of how businesses of all sizes are starting to appreciate this shift in search mentality and the increasing importance of implementing sound (no pun intended) SEO practises.
For more information on how Innovation Visual are helping businesses prepare for Voice Search please contact team@innovationvisual.com.