Every year, technology is becoming more accessible and focused on user comfort. Companies fight for each client, so they make sure that the use of a particular service requires a minimum of effort from a person. A great example of a tool that provides user comfort and this affects website promotion is voice search.
SEO website optimization for voice search
Let's start with some statistics. Back in 2019, Microsoft conducted a study among their users regarding voice assistants. The results showed that:

69% of respondents generally use a voice assistant
68% of respondents use it to quickly search for facts
52% of respondents use it to search for a product or service
That is, even then voice search was in high demand, especially for information agencies and sales.
What is voice search?
The definition from Wikipedia states that «voice search is a speech recognition technology that allows the translation of a user's speech query into text form, which is then transmitted to a standard database search system». And translated into humans, voice search is a function of search engines, thanks to which a request can be made using voice.
Although this feature is not new at all, it gained high popularity only a few years ago, thanks to the development of artificial intelligence and technology in general. In 2022, the voice search trend is only gaining momentum.
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It is important to understand that now Google uses the so-called «mobile-first indexing», that is, the company tests how comfortable it is for users of mobile resources to use the resource, based on which the site is promoted. Voice search plays an important role here, so not using this tool in SEO means losing one of the effective elements of promotion.
Voice search tools
Voice search queries are generated using mobile devices, smartwatches, and speakers. In general, voice search tools can be divided into three categories:
- Voice assistants. This includes such giants as Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, and others. Their key feature is artificial intelligence, which selects the most relevant answers to your query.
- Voice search in search engines. Of course, the most popular example is Google, which a few years ago introduced the ability to launch a search with a simple phrase «ok Google» (and this launched not only the popularization of voice search but also a wave of memes from netizens)
- Intelligent columns. The butts of these devices are Apple HomePod, Google Hole, and Alexa and Echo, which became the first such device.
Why is it necessary to optimize the site for voice queries?
It's popular with the public
Voice search devices are developing more and more, becoming more comfortable for the user, so it makes sense to use this in SEO right now.
Our editors highlight the following sites, which, firstly, benefit from voice search optimization:
- Local business (voice search adjusts to the user's location, so if a user searches for, for example, «cheap cafe», the responses to the request will be those cafes that are closer to him)
- Hotel and restaurant business
- Delivery
- Information resources/blogs
- Sites presenting music content, movies, series
- entertainment industry
Relatively low competition
Even though voice search is becoming more and more popular, and its functionality can become a real assistant in website promotion, many business owners underestimate its capabilities or simply do not pay attention to it.
Therefore, it is your business that can already be promoted more efficiently than competitors.
What does it take to optimize voice search?
1. Website adaptation for mobile devices
As mentioned above, most users use mobile devices, where voice search takes place, so one of the most important conditions is the quality adaptation of your site for all types of smartphones.
2. Text optimization for easy voice search
We recommend taking into account the following features:
- Voice search is designed for queries of more words than text search. Therefore, it is worth using low-frequency phrases when working with the semantic core of sites.
- Most often people start queries with the words «how», «what», «where», etc. That is, if the user writes «oatmeal dishes» in text, then it is more customary for him to say «what to cook from oatmeal» with his voice. This should also be taken into account when working with a site's SEO.
Google is its user-friendliness. At the same time, loading speed is a weighty argument for getting a site to the top. As for voice search, this feature is used to quickly obtain information, so the speed of request processing is especially important here.
What our editors recommend to speed up the site:
1. Reduce time spent parsing, compiling, and executing JS scripts by reducing the size of JS code snippets.
2. Use the CSS font-display property so that users can see the text while loading web fonts.
3. Use only the most necessary third-party resources.
4. Set the width and height for images.
5. Use AMP technologies to speed up mobile pages.
You can get more recommendations by using the resource Google.
4. Customizing Featured Snippets
Featured Snippets — this is a short answer to a user's query on a search page that they don't need to directly open the site to see. People who use voice search most often want to quickly find out the necessary information, so this feature is especially important.

We recommend presenting a small part of the main information in this way so that the user remains motivated to read the continuation.
5. Updating contact details and location
Keep in mind that the use of voice search is most common among local businesses (because people often use this method to search for nearby stores, cafes, etc.)
Our editors recommend that: Remember to keep your location, hours of operation, and contact phone numbers up to date on Google Business, so the user won't have to experience the inconvenience of finding up-to-date information about your business.
What can such optimization give a business?
- Increase in mobile traffic
- Increasing site conversion
- Improve user experience
And, as a result, an increase in profitability.
Conclusions
SEO website optimization for voice search is an effective promotion strategy for 2022. Every year, the function becomes more and more popular, primarily among smartphone users.
To implement such optimization, it is necessary to work on the mobile version of the site, speed up its work as much as possible and take into account some features of voice search (such as, for example, its focus on local business).
We hope this article was useful to you, and that the conversion of your site has already begun to grow!

