Search engine optimisation (SEO)

The popularity of smartphones, smart speakers and AI assistants means voice search should be part of your SEO strategy, especially for local and question-based searches.

What is voice search?

Voice search uses speech recognition on smartphones and other devices. It lets users search by speaking their queries instead of typing them. The most commonly used examples of voice search applications include:

• Siri (developed by Apple)
• Alexa (developed by Amazon)
• Google Assistant (developed by Google)

These applications, also known as 'digital assistants', can be used on Smartphones or other digital devices such as smart speakers (eg Echo or Google Home). 

Voice search allows users to:

• make search engine queries
• request specific information such as weather forecasts or sports scores
• launch applications
• search for audio and video content
• use voice dialling

How to optimise for voice search

One of the key ways to optimise for voice search is to create content that answers a user’s question clearly. This can also support featured snippets, AI summaries and other answer-style search results.

You can create content that answers user queries by:

• ensuring you have an effective keyword strategy
• researching popular queries with online tools
• use a question and answer format when writing content - eg FAQ pages
• answering questions concisely, ideally near the top of the page
• use subheadings, lists and tables 

Long-tail keywords are effective for voice search as queries are more conversational. For example a user may type 'dog-friendly cafe in Bangor' but say out loud 'hey [assistant], where near me can I get a good coffee and bring my dog'. Think about how real people talk and ask questions verbally when developing your keyword strategy. 

As voice search is often used to find local businesses, make sure your address and contact information is listed prominently online.