Voice Search – a technology that allows users to make queries to a search engine without using a keyboard. Voice search is most commonly used on mobile devices, where it is more convenient to speak a search query than to type it out.
Currently, the share of text queries exceeds that of voice queries, but the capabilities of voice assistants like Siri, Alice, or Ok Google are constantly growing, along with the number of users who prefer voice commands for information retrieval over text input.
Ignoring website optimization for voice search is not an option, as it will significantly reduce the amount of traffic to the site in the future.
SEO for Voice Search
1. Voice Queries. The main feature of voice search is longer queries. When typing a text query, users are brief and input only a few keywords, for example, “Café Rome,” while in voice search, queries can be longer, such as “Where can I get coffee in Rome?”
Essentially, voice search represents a stream of low-frequency queries, but for successful ranking, the site must provide answers to these questions, rather than just various question formulations in the text, as is often used in classic text searches for low-frequency queries.
2. Local Search. Currently, the majority of voice queries pertain to local search. Users frequently make voice queries via their phones while outside the home—searching for entertainment venues, services, etc. If your business is oriented towards such services, optimizing your site for voice search is particularly important.
3. Structured Data. Just like in classic SEO, properly filled meta-data for pages matters, as this helps search bots form an understanding of the content on the site’s pages.
4. Voice-friendly Phrases. It will be beneficial if the text content of the site includes phrases that are semantically similar to those users might ask during voice searches. These phrases can be used not only in site articles but also in metadata.
5. Mobile-Friendly Site. The site must be optimized for mobile devices—this could be a separate mobile version of the site or responsive design. Almost all traffic from voice search comes from mobile devices, and if the site is not adapted for them, it will affect both search rankings and user experience.
6. Loading Speed. Since mobile internet is often used for site loading, which can be slower than wired connections, having a high loading speed is crucial.
7. Internal and External Links. When creating internal links or placing external links to your resource, it is advisable to use words and phrases in the anchor text that may contain a question that users most frequently ask in voice searches or the answer to it.
SEO Specialist Tip: It is important to understand the main feature of voice search—people are searching from mobile devices, often while outside their homes, meaning they do not have enough conditions or time for prolonged information study.
In voice search, the site should provide a short and clear answer to the user’s query—long texts with lists of keywords and an abundance of images in an article can negatively impact the site’s ranking positions.
