Are you using voice search marketing yet? (10 expert tips)
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If you’re a marketer, you’re probably already spinning a lot of plates. So you’re likely wondering if voice search marketing is worth investing in and what actions you can take to improve your visibility.
As SEO experts who make it our mission to keep up with the digital industry, we’re seeing big shifts in how people search. The latest stats about voice search show an ever-increasing segment of people using it on a daily basis for an increasing proportion of their daily queries.
That’s exactly why voice search optimisation is well worth spending time on, especially for location-based businesses looking to capture local search intent.
So, let’s get into our roundup of exactly how you can make your content perform in voice search in order to reach people where they’re searching.
8 voice search marketing tips from our SEO experts
Here are the top actions that our team of SEO specialists would take to help a site perform better for voice searches.
1. Optimise for long-tail question keywords
People search using voice assistants differently from how they’d type their query out. After all, you can speak a lot quicker than you type and people don’t tend to change from their natural speech patterns when using voice search.
As a result, your current keyword strategy might be missing out on voice searches simply because you’re not thinking about keywords conversationally.
To find these opportunities, use keyword research tools to filter specifically for question-based searches. Don’t panic if you see a lower search volume for these long-tail keywords. While they might be more niche, they tend to have higher intent.
Example: Someone asking “Where is the best Italian in Manchester city centre” (sv 20) is likely much closer to going than someone typing “Italian restaurant Manchester.” (1.9K sv)
While it’s helpful to target those especially relevant long-tail keywords where you can, voice marketing isn’t just about individual pages serving up content addressing niche keywords. It’s about building clear topic authority that voice assistants can recognise.
Do this by creating content clusters that establish expertise and authority in your space so that voice assistants trust your site enough to pull from it as a valid source.
3. Lean further into local intent
According to Search Engine Land, over 50% of voice searches have local search intent – so it’s well worth optimising for it. You’re likely to be targeting local search intent already but is your voice search strategy going far enough to capture how people actually speak?
People don’t just think about themselves in terms of their city or town but their exact location or neighbourhood. If you live on Newton Street in Manchester you probably don’t search for pizza in Manchester, you search for “pizza in the Northern Quarter” or “pizza in Ancoats.” Keep this in mind when doing keyword research.
4. Update your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile can help ensure you’re more likely to be included in voice search results so make sure it’s filled in and up to date.
An interesting insight from Moz is that 70% of voice searches include terms like “near me” or “closest,”. If you want to feature in voice search for these terms it’s crucial to make sure that your profile is as complete and accurate as it can be. That way, if someone asks “What’s the closest [your service] to me?”, you’ve given voice assistants the best possible information to pull from.
Here’s what to add:
- Your full address that matches your website and any other listings or third-party providers
- Accurate, up-to-date opening hours (including any holiday changes)
- Clear area boundaries if you travel out to customers
- Detailed business descriptions that answer common customer questions
- Regular updates about your services and any changes
- Encourage customers to leave Google reviews to build your credibility and give Google strong EEAT signals
5. Make mobile optimisation a priority
Remember, voice searches don’t just happen on home assistants. They also take place through mobile voice assistants. In fact, up to 27% of global mobile owners regularly use them according to Google. That means your site needs to be fast and as mobile-friendly as possible. This will mean you don’t lose the users you’ve worked hard to help find you.
James Lancaster
Front-end developer
"Whether it's asking Alexa a question while you've got your hands full or checking with Siri in the car using hands-free, voice search is undoubtedly becoming ever more integrated into day-to-day life. Making sure that your site is fast & accessible is a cornerstone to accessing this market. This starts with a clean core build without unnecessary bloat and SEO in mind followed closely by ensuring that it meets Google's Core Web Vital standards."
6. Featured snippets just got more important
We all know that featured snippets are great for getting in front of users who have a long-tail query. But did you know that they’re also really important for voice search marketing?
That’s because when someone asks a question, voice assistants often pull directly from these snippets. Remember to structure your content with clear, concise answers so that if it becomes a featured snippet voice assistants can easily read out.
7. Use schema markup strategically
Another way to help voice assistants confidently pull from your site is to use schema markup. This is a technical SEO tactic that allows you to tell voice assistants exactly what your content means.
By adding specific types of structured data – especially LocalBusiness, FAQ, and HowTo schema – you’re essentially giving voice assistants a map of what your content means. Marking up your business hours and address, for example, means voice assistants can confidently pull this information for “near me” and “open now” answers.
Tip: Check your schema is working correctly using Google’s Schema Testing Tool before you publish – this helps avoid any technical issues that might stop voice assistants from reading your content properly.
Claire Marie Wilder
SEO Account Manager
"Schema markup is your way of clearly explaining to crawlers the structure of your website. As SEO becomes increasingly complex, with multiple organic avenues to optimise for, schemas are becoming more important. If you're looking to optimise for voice, Google has released a reasonably new speakable schema which highlights text-to-speech content. This is currently only available in the US, but one I have my eye on for the future."
8. Make each location work harder
If you’re running a business in multiple locations, each one needs its own defined strategy. Don’t just duplicate your content – create unique Google Business Profiles for each location with specific details about that branch.
Each individual profile should reflect local landmarks, neighbourhoods and characteristics that people actually use when searching in that area. That way you can help give voice assistant answers for every location, not just the flagship or first one you set up.
Need a search strategy that works?
Our SEO team build user-focused strategies that capture every possible opportunity. Talk to us about how we could help you ace voice search as well as every other channel your users are finding you on.
Get in touch with Embryo today to start prioritising your site’s SEO.
