A recent stat says 20.5% of the global population uses voice search to find information on the Internet, highlighting the importance of an emerging trend called Voice Search Optimization (VSO) for SEO.
Voice search is fast transforming the SEO landscape. It is changing the way we perform searches online.
Here voice-activated quests are used to target smart devices like smart speakers, and voice assistants replacing traditional text-based keywords with lengthy conversational long-tail keywords.
In this blog, we will primarily focus on voice search optimization, its importance in SEO, how it is different from typical SEO, and what strategies to follow to practice it.
1. What is Voice Search Optimization?
Now the question is what is voice search optimization in the first place?
Voice search optimization is optimizing your website or online visibility against voice search queries.
Success in it means voice assistants speaking out loud about your brand or website when people ask relevant questions using their voice as commands.
Examples of such voice assistants are Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana. People also do voice searches using their smartphones.
You can also use voice searches on your laptop or desktop browsers, but the results will be the same as normal typed searches.
2. Why is Voice Search Optimization Crucial for SEO?
According to PwC, 71% of consumers prefer voice searches over typed searches.
Some reports also say the number of worldwide users of digital assistants has touched a staggering 8.4 billion in 2024. With ChatGPT rolling out voice prompts, it is expected that voice searches are going to be key drivers for AI’s growth in the future.
That means voice-enabled devices are no longer only for daily casual interactions but people have started gathering serious and valuable data from it.
There are clear benefits of combining voice search optimization with traditional SEO –
- If your content appears on the voice search results it will further enhance your brand awareness, reputation, and authority.
- If you make changes to your website to optimize for voice searches, it will improve its technical SEO and rejuvenate its user experience (UX).
Businesses need to tap this new exciting opportunity to optimize their website on these smart devices so they can boost their SEO game by improving their site’s ranking.
3. How is Voice Search Optimization Different from Traditional SEO?
Though voice search optimization may seem similar to traditional SEO there are subtle differences between them.
Humans find typing more physically and intellectually challenging than speaking.
Therefore we tend to normally type shorter queries on Google but use longer more conversational quests for voice searches.
For example, we type “Restaurants near me” when we text on Google but that will become something like “What are some of the good restaurants near me?” on voice search.
You can see the difference- voice searches are more detailed because we can effortlessly ask long questions in our natural languages but when it comes to typing we would rather keep it short.
4. What are the Prerequisites for Voice Search Optimization
If you want to optimize your website content for voice search then first and foremost you have to make sure that the following three prerequisites are met:
a. Get SSL Certificate
You can not optimize your website for voice searches unless it is SSL-certified. That suggests your site should support HTTPS protocol instead of HTTP.
HTTPS provides encryption for your site’s connection- Therefore search engines like Google find it secure and trusted.
b. Speed Up Your Website
In voice search, users expect quick answers to their queries! That means the loading speed of your website needs to be really fast. According to Backlinko, the average loading speed for voice search results is 4.6 seconds, 52% faster than the average page loading time.
For fast loading, you can work on a few areas like –
- optimizing images
- clearing browser cache regularly
- minimizing the use of CSS and JavaScript to cut loading time
c. Create Mobile-Friendly Content
Here is another stat – roughly 4.69 billion people on Earth are projected to own smartphones in 2025! And you know what! Most of the voice searches are done on these mobile devices. So making your website mobile-friendly is not optional but rather mandatory.
Apply responsive design to your website, ensuring that the user interface (UI) adjusts to multiple screen sizes.
Then use tools like PageSpeedInsights to test your site’s mobile-friendliness.
5. What are the other Crucial Strategies for Voice Search Optimization?
a. Use Conversational and Long-Tail Keywords
Observe the following two voice search phrases:
– “Hey Siri, how is the weather in Delhi today?”
– “Hi Alexa, what are the best places to eat biryani near me?”
Can you spot a pattern in the above searches?
Yes, you are right, these are detailed query-based searches. Most of the voice searches are questions asked in a colloquial tone using complex phrases.
Therefore, optimize your content with conversational long-tail keywords. Powerful tools, like AnswerThePublic, are available on the market to discover useful voice-friendly keywords.
One more thing.
Have you noticed the “People Also Ask” section whenever you type any quests on Google? A few questions appear under this section and optimizing your web content based on them can also boost your voice search ranking.
b. Optimize for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are the brief summarized search result boxes that appear at the beginning of search engine result pages (SERPs). Voice assistants like Siri or Alexa often collect their data from these featured snippets.
So it is obvious that you will see a higher chance of appearing in the voice search results if you can place your content on featured snippets (also called position zero).
But how to achieve this?
Here are a few tips:
- Use the Table of Contents at the beginning of your blog/content.
- Use short sentences for better readability
- Use bulleted/numbered lists
- Use tables
- Give direct answers to user’s queries
d. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Schema markup also known as structured data is a special code using special tags and attributes to make search engines understand your website content through rich snippets or more informative results.
Schema markups are useful particularly for frequently asked questions(FAQs), how-to guides, and local businesses.
For example, if you run a local business, structured data will give a clearer more concise context to your content like providing the address of your business, contact details, business hours, and even reviews.
With additional context, schema markup helps voice search engines to better understand users’ intent and therefore deliver more accurate results.
e. Add FAQs in your Content
To optimize for voice searches, build your content based on the “conversational long-tail keywords” (as described before) that mimic the natural way humans speak. Use those keywords starting with interrogatives like what, why, when, where, who, etc in your H1, H2, and H3 tags for maximum results.
Your content should provide direct answers to the questions people ask. Therefore even if you missed out on those voice keywords in the main body of your content, don’t forget to include FAQs at the end providing short and direct answers to common voice queries.
Conclusion
With an increasing surge in global mobile users, voice search optimization is now an invaluable element of SEO strategy. As this trend is going to take center stage in the coming days businesses need to optimize their websites for voice searches too to stay relevant in the fiercely competitive digital landscape.
Focus on the technical SEO of your site, optimize your content for lengthy conversational keywords, featured snippets, and schema markups, and add FAQs to get your website featured in the voice search results.
If voice search optimization is not your forte, book a free consultation session with our team today. We can help you optimize your website for voice search and help you stay ahead in the SEO curve.
