Will the Development of Smartwatches Change the Way We Search Locally?

Do you own a Smartwatch? Are you looking at buying one? Are you familiar with wearable technology? The use of Smartwatches and wearable technology is increasing and you are seeing more and more people using and wearing them. They are now being used for more than just checking the time, taking pictures and having the novelty of one. More online searches are now being completed on Smartwatches and it is expected that this will continue to be the trend.

When Smartwatches were first released many people bought them as a new novelty accessory, not many people actually bought them for the full specifications or features. But now Apple are set to release a Smartwatch “the iWatch” next year and this could be the turning point for wearable technology.

In this article I will be discussing the potential features of Smartwatches and how they could become an essential part of everyday life.

Local Searches

You may be wondering how a Smartwatch could ever change the way we search locally but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. You’re walking down a street and you are feeling hungry, so you type in your watch ‘places to eat’. You don’t even have to type in an address or City; the Smartwatch will pick up your location and then show local results specific to where you are.

The new Apple Smartwatch is set to be released next year and among the features it will be able to perform local searches whilst offering users the chance to do turn-by-turn navigation. Not only will it be able to tell you ‘turn-by-turn’ navigations but it will also have a built in buzz feature. This feature will buzz in certain places on the watch meaning you won’t even have to look down to see where you are going!

How could this affect your business?

This could have a gigantic effect on your business if you do not move with the times and change how your business plan fits in with new technological advancements. If you have a website for your business but it is not mobile responsive, this could mean your website does not show for the local search done on a Smartwatch. You may have a mobile site but have not optimised it locally; again this could mean you do not show up for potential Smartwatch searches.

Mobile responsive site, Smartwatch responsive site or even a Smartwatch App?

There currently is not a thing as a Smartwatch responsive site but if Smartwatches really do take off like they are anticipated, you may just want to keep your options open. Currently if a user does a search on their mobile device or tablet, more often than not a mobile responsive site will come up and it will look great on your device. Sometimes you click on a website and the first page you see is a ‘download our app’ headline. You then download the app and it works great on your device. Now, if you take that concept and apply it to a Smartwatch, it creates a whole new outlook at what should and could come up.

The need for more relevant content

The need for more relevant content will certainly increase as users will want to find what they are looking for straight away. Let’s take a Smartphone as an example, if you search on your Smartphone for some information and are greeted by a page with crazy amounts of content you will almost certainly click straight off that page and find a new one. Now, the thought of doing searches on a Smartwatch, with a much smaller screen would mean the content you create has to be extremely relevant for what the user is searching for.

Conclusion

Although Smartwatches have not become a must-have item yet the potential of their future presence is scary. If the Apple Smartwatch is as successful as it is predicted then the whole of the Smartwatches will almost certainly take off and the world of local searches as we know it will change!

It cannot be guaranteed that they will take off but it is so important for you and your business to keep updated on where they are going and how often they are being used.

Article by: Adam Jones